HISTORY JEFFERSON COLLEGE: INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY "LOG-CABIN" SCHOOLS, AND THE CANONSBUEG ACADEMY: WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 01' iEV. MATTHEW BROWN, D. D., Rev. SAMUEL RALSTON, D.D., Rev. MATTHEW HENDERSON, Rev. JAMES RAM- SEY, D. D., Rev. JOHN II. KENNEDY, and Rev. ABR'M. ANDERSON, D. D. BY JOSEPH SMITH, D. D. Author of " Old Redstone." PITTSBURGH: PUBLISHED AND PRINTED BY J. T. SHRYOCK, GAZETTE BUILDING, FIFTH STREET. 1857. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, hy J. T. SHKYOCK, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Western District of Pennsylvania. STEREOTYPED BY W. S. HAVEN, PITTSBURGH, PA. 2.8t>t J32 5c CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODTJCTI0 N — L G-C A B I N SCHOOLS. Page. Character of First Western Ministers — When and by whom " Log-Cabin" Schools begun — Mr. Dodd's School on Ten Mile and in Washington — Mr. Smith's School at Buffalo— Dr. M'Millan's School at Chartiers 5 CHAPTER II. THE CANON SBURG ACADEMY. By whom the Academy founded — David Johnston, first teacher — Dr. M'Millan's position at first — His " Log-Cabin" School merged into Academy — Movement of Synod of Virginia — Redstone Presbytery selected Canonsburg — Interesting ceremony of opening Academy — Persons engaged in it — First student, Robert Patterson ; sketch of his life and character— Notice in Pittsburgh Gazette — Con- tributions for Academy — Specimen of then- character — Charter in 1794 — First Trustees — Petition to Legislature in 1796 — Teacbers, Mr. Johnston, Mr. Samuel Miller, Mr. Mountain and Mr. Stockton — Action of Presbyteries — Literary Soci- eties — Contests — Secret affiliated Societies 17 CHAPTER III. THE ACADEMY BECOMING A COLLEGE. Trustees and Officers — Another Petition to Legislature — Judge Edgar — Presbytery of Redstone — Old Mr. Patterson's account of Academy in 1798 — Rules and Reg- ulations — Colonel Canon's death and character — Legislative aid — New Move- ment to get College Charter — Act of Trustees, about conditions of preaching in Academy — Members added to the Societies — Change of Constitution in 1798 — Names of Tmstees — Charter of Jefferson College, in 1S02 — Why called after Mr. Jefferson — Good reasons for the name — New Trustees — New rules — Mr. Watson, first President; his death and character — Mr. Dunlap elected President; his character 45 CHAPTER IV. 1 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE FROM 1804. Graduates of 1S04 — Ross 1 Latin Grammar — Account of lloss — Book-case for the Societies; reminisceuces about it — Graduates of 1805 and 1S0G — Presbyterian and Associate Presbyteries successfully appealed to for aid — Gen. Hamilton's success at Congress — Injunction of the Board upon Drs. M'Millan and Dunlap— Graduates of 1S08 — First communication from Board of Washington College; result — Dr. Ralston chosen President of Board — Dr. Murdock's rpport about conference with Washington Committee — Graduates of 1809 — State of Finances — Death and character of Judge M' Do-well — Trustees' rule for order of procession at commencement — Description of an " Exhibition" or College Commencement, in " old tinus." 69 IV CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. NEW PRESIDENTS AND "COLLEGE WAR." Page. Dr. DurJap and the Board — Graduates of 1810 — Dr. Dunlap resigns — Graduates of 1811 and 1812 — Dr. Wylie elected Principal — About Ezekiel Hannah's will — Graduates of 1813, 1814 and 1S15 — New negotiations with the Board of Wash- ington College — Various conferences — Final failure in attempt to unite the col- leges — Much sharp shooting, on both sides, but none killed, and few wounded — Reflections on the whole case — Iiev. R. Johnston, a trustee for seventeen years — Sketch of his life — Dr. Wylie resigns — Dr. Wm. M' Milan succeeds him — Dr. Matthew Brown — Remarkable circumstances connected with his election 85 CHAPTER VI. DR. M. BROWN'S PRESIDENCY. A new era in the state and prospects of Jefferson College — Dr. Brown's extraordi- nary character and qualifications — Connection of Jefferson College with Jeffer- son Medical College in Philadelphia — Jacob Oreen, Esq. — Literary Societies in difficulties — Theological Seminary of the Associate Presbyterian Church estab- lished at Canonsburg— New College building in 1829-32 — Crisis in the life of Dr. M'Millan; Death of his old friends, Prof. Miller and C. Ritchie, Esq.; their lives and charactei - — Agricultural labor provided for students by a College farm ; its ultimate failure; reflections about it — Recent movement by Synod of Pitts- burgh for EccU \ rvisUm — Us failure; reasons— Aids to be sought in investigating that whole subject — General conclusion of the whole history, Ill CHAPTER VII. SOME ACCOUNT OP TnE LITERARY SOCIETIES OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. History of l'hilo Literary Society 139 History of Franklin Literary Society 154 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Biographical sketch of the late Rev. Matthew Brown, D. D 180 Biographical sketch of the Rev. Samuel Ralston, D. D 192 Biographical sketch of the Rev. Matthew Henderson 234 Biographical sketch of the Rev. James Ramsey, D. D 252 Biographical sketch of the Rev. ABRAHAM Anderson,D. D 283 Memoir of tho late Rev. John II. Kennedy, A. M 353 APPENDIX. The origin of Jefferson College 373 Dr. M'Millan's Manuscript 413 Importance of Colleges and of Classical Education — Early history of Collegiate Institutions 418 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE, CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION — LOG-CABIN SCHOOLS. Character of First Western Ministers— When and by whom " Log Cabin " Schools begun — Mr. Dod's School on Ten-mile and in Washington — Mr. Smith's School at Buffalo — Dr. M'Millan's School at Chartiers. The early history of most nations, ancient or modern, is obscured and deformed by incredible traditions and monstrous legends. The laborious researches of Niebuhr, Arnold, and others, have contributed much to separate the precious from the vile, and to ascertain, with some precision, where true history begins. The American people have this great advan- tage, in regard to the story of their rise and progress, that no fabulous period belongs to the outset of their history. This is especially true in respect to that portion of them who first sought homes and formed settlements in the eastern part of the Valley of the Mississippi. Though much obscurity rests upon the unimportant details of the first years of trial and sorrow, through which those who succeeded the hunters, trap- pers and Indians traders of Western Pennsylvania, were com- pelled to pass, the prominent features of the men of those times, and of the measures they pursued for elevating their physical, intellectual and moral condition, are now well ascertained, and rest on no uncertain tradition. The Scotch- Irish emigrants, who began to pour out on the Western frontier, a little before the last quarter of the 18th century, 1* (5) 6 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. and to form settlements through Western Pennsylvania and Virginia, were a remarkable race. They brought with them a deeply cherished love for the House of God and the School House. The ministers of the gospel of the Presbyterian Church, and of the Associate, or Secession body, were well educated men, most of them graduates of the college of New Jersey; and devoted their untiring efforts to organize and build up churches in the new settlements. They also co-op- erated with their people in organizing schools ; and in most cases took them under their own care, becoming tethers themselves, or providing adequate instructors. This may have been, possibly, in some instances, with a view, in part, to eke out a scanty support. But we have no doubt that this part of their labors, was in a measure forced upon them. Their poor people, living in log-cabins, and surrounded by constant harassings and perils from their savage foes, and doomed to very exhausting toils, in order to support their growing families, threw this responsible work on the hands of their ministers. Yet they, without exception, were com- pelled to work too, and to work hard, on their little patches of cleared land. There was not one of them, who did not become familiar with the axe and the maul, the plow and the hoe. Almost coeval with the period of their settlement west of the mountains, these ministers got up schools near their dwellings. As such dwellings would be generally as near the centre of their congregations as practicable, this location of the school houses would be most convenient to their people. Such a school was probably first established by Dr. M'Millan, near his own house, about two miles east of the present location of Canonsburg. Another was formed by the Rev. Thaddeus Pod, who settled on Ten-mile, in the southern part of Washington county, in the fall of 1779. Mr. Pod's school was begun as early as 17S2 or 178-'j,— as we shall presently see. That Dr. M'Millan's school, in its earliest form, preceded Mr, Dod's, seems highly INTRODUCTION — LOG CABIN SCHOOLS. I probable, both from general tradition,* and from bis language in a letter to Dr. Carnaban, dated March 26th, 1882, which we shall presently quote. This remarkable man, whose whole subsequent life was intimately associated with the cause of education, and with the history of Jefferson College, came out and settled in Western Pennsylvania, in November, 1778, though his first visit and labors as a minister of the gospel in the West, date back to 1775. This school, under the imme- diate care of Dr. M'Millan, seems to have been for the first few years,^imply the English school of the neighborhood, with occasionally some Latin scholars. About the time of its organization, or soon after, the services of James Ross, Esq., were secured, who taught the general branches of English education, boarded with Dr. M'Millan, and pursued or com- pleted his own classical studies, under the tuition of the Doctor, in compensation for his services in the school. This statement, we are aware, disturbs a current tradition, but is supported by the testimony of a letter of Dr. Carnaban, ExJ?resident of Princeton College, now before us.f That Dr. M'Millan had in view the ultimate development of this school into the more distinctive form of a Latin sclwol for young men having the gospel ministry in view, there is no reason to doubt. But that it possessed this form from * "That Br. M'Millan had a school at his own house, soon after ho went Western Pennsylvania is undoubtedly true. This corresponds with the tradition I heard." — Letter from Dr. Garnalmn. j- We give the following extract from a letter of the Rev. Dr. James Carnaban, to the Rev. Dr. Charles Hodge — dated, ''Princeton, N. J., May 13th, 1351." "The tradition I heard was, that Ross taught the English school; and that Dr. M'Millan taught him Latin, Greek, and Mathomatics. Mr. Ross was undoubtedly a man of uncommon talent.-', an able lawyor, and of high standing as a Senator of the United States. But I never heard him spoken of as a distinguished Latin and Greek scholar. Judge Addison and Judge Brackenridge, of Pittsburgh, wore always spoken of as first rate classical scholars. But this was not the reputation of Mr. Ross." 8 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. the beginning, seems highly improbable. The harassed and troubled state of the country, for the first four or five year3 after the Doctor's settlement at Chartiers, renders it very unlikely that materials could be found for getting up this department at his school. But wo have stated at large, in " Old Redstone," our reasons for questioning the accuracy of the tradition which has assigned to him the honor of open- ing the first Latin school in the West, the substance of which may be seen in the note below. * But though we question the early date ef Dr. M'Jftlan's school as a Latin school, it seems almost certain to us that he made the first movement in the cause of education. And again, his school became what the Doctor had, perhaps, always contemplated from the beginning — a classical school ) and it was the sole classical school, west of the Monongahela river, for young men preparing for the gospel ministry, after others of a similar character were discontinued. This school was the immediate predecessor of the Academy at Canons- burg, which was founded in 1791. But the manner in which the one preceded the other, and was merged into it, we shall see hereafter. In the meantime, soon after Dr. M'Millan's school commenced, in its primal form, Mr. Dod opened his school at Ten-mile. His son has recently given, — - ■ — ■ -p * The records of the Presbytery of Redstone show that there were no licentiates under their care, who had roceired thoir previous scholastic 01 theological training from Dr. M'Millan, till after 1785. Their first canal dates, Messrs. Hughes, Brice, Patterson and Poster, wore first under the instruction of Messrs. Dod and Smith, from 1783 to 1786. Dr. M'Millan enumerates them among the first who wore trained and brought into tho ministry in tho Wost. He moutions none before them. The Rev. Joseph Patterson, who studiod, with a few others, under tho direction of the Rev. Joseph Smith, at Buffalo, in 17S5, was afterwards, along with some of these, at Dr. M'Millan's school ; and tho Doctor, in his letter so Dr. Carnahan, writing of his first movement to prepare young men for the ministry, men- tions these i^ersons as forming the materials of his first Latin school. There are some other facts stated in "Old Redstone," pages 77 and 78, serving to confirm the view'then taken. INTRODUCTION — LOG CABIN SCHOOLS. 9 in the Presbyterian Magazine (for September, 1854), an inter- esting statement, which, though somewhat extended, will be read with interest. The following is the Rev. Dr. Cephas Dodd's account of his father's efforts in the cause of educa- tion : — "He (the Rev. Thaddeus Dod*) felt the importance of a better common school education, and, in order to promote it, visited the schools, and counseled the teachers as to the best manner of performing their duties. For the special pur- pose of educating young men for the gospel ministry, he had a bu^fcng erected within a few steps of his own dwelling, in which he opened a classical and mathematical school, in the spring of 1782. The students present at that time were Messrs. James Hughes, John Brice, Daniel Lindley, Robert Marshall and Francis Dunlavy. These were all young men, and avowedly pursuing a course of education, preparatory to the ministry, excepting Mr. Dunlavy, whose intention is not certainly known. He was a young man of superior talent, of amiable disposition, took an active part in social worship, and, it is thought, Mr. Dod and others felt some disappointment when he took a different course. He was afterwards a Judge in the State of Ohio. Daniel Lindley, in cousecpaence of the failure of his health, was compelled to relinquish his under- taking. John Hanna, also having the ministry in view, came probably in 1783. The Rev. David Smith, young at that time, was also one of the students. Whether he came with the first, or at a later date, is not recollected. "With what view his father sent him, we may easily imagine; and his hope was not disappointed. Another young lad, son of Col. James Marshal, entered the school about 1783. The Rev. Jacob Lindley, D. D., the early friend and companion of the writer, (and to whom he is indebted for much aid in calling to recollection and establishing these particulars), was also an inmate of the family, and though but from eight to ten * The Rev. T. Dod and Rev. C. Dodd. The son added a d to his name. 10 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. or eleven years of age, was reading Latin, and we are assured that Lis father placed him there with the hope that he might, in due time, be prepared by divine grace to take part in the work of the ministry. It may also be noted that some three or four men were taught surveying. There is no reason to think that for any other purpose than that of edu- cating men for the ministry, the building would ever have been erected, or the school opened. After having been in operation three years and a half, it was closed in the fall of 1785, either because Mr. D. had sold the farm on wh#h he lived, and was about removing from it, or for other reasons. Doubtless after boarding such a number in the family, with the few conveniences of house-room, &c, they enjoyed, both he and Mrs. Dod needed a little rest. Here, then, on an exposed frontier, we find the first classical school in the West, and might claim for Mr. Dod the precedence in efforts to promote the cause of education for the ministry. Such claim, however, we do not make, though the above facts show that it cannot belong to any other. It is true that Mr. D. took upon him the labor of teaching, years before it was entered upon by any of his brethren ; but it was not his own private enterprise. He, with Messrs. Smith and M'Millan, felt deeply the need, both present and prospective, of a faithful and able ministry to supply the wants of our Western Zion. The harvest was great, and the laborers were few. When they met, it was often the subject of their con- versation, and instead of waiting for ministers to come from abroad, they wisely resolved to endeavor to raise them up in their midst. Who can say which of them first proposed or acted on this plan ? They sought for young men of piety and talents who would be willing to devote themselves to the work, and undertook to prepare them by a thorough educa- tion. One was found at Ten-mile, two at Buffalo, and some in other places ; and Mr. Dod was first employed in teaching for reasons which it is not for us to assign. Each of the INTRODUCTION — LOG CABIN SCHOOLS. 11 above named ministers were employed more or less in teach- ing at his own house, but finding it inconvenient and inter- fering too much with their pastoral duties, their next move- ment was the getting up an Academy at Washington, for which a charter was granted September 24th, 1787, with a donation of five thousand acres of land. Without entering into any detail of argument to show that the aforesaid ministers were first to move in this matter, it may be sufficient to call attention to the names of the Trustees. They were the Rev. Messrs. .John M'Millan, Joseph Smith, Thaddeus Dod, John Clark, Matthew Henderson, (of the Associate Presby- tery,) and John Corbly, (Baptist.) Here were five Presby- terian ministers, being all who were west of the Monongahela river, and with them, seven or eight elders of Cross Creek Buffalo, Chartiers, &c. ; and one of them in an extreme part of what was then Washington, but now Green county. The other trustees were, with a few exceptions, in connection with the Presbyterian church. Two of them, (Judges Allison and M'Bowell,) who were elders of Chartiers, were at that time in the Legislature, and aided in obtaining the charter. The land appropriated by the State, lying north of the Ohio, would, of course, be unproductive for a long time. Neverthe- less, the trustees resolved to go forward. After some unsuc- cessful attempts to obtain a Principal, Mr. Bod was urgently solicited to take the place. He was unwilling to leave his people, but, after some conference on the subject, informed them, that, provided the appointment were made but for one year, he might, for the sake of getting the institution into operation, think it his duty to accept; but, if for a longer term, he should reject it at once. The appointment was made accordingly, and after consulting his people, he signified his acceptance, and at the same time resigned the office of trustee. There being no available funds wherewith to erect a building, the upper rooms of the Court House were hired for the purpose, and the Institution went into operation, 1st of 12 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. April, 1789. There were about twenty or thirty students, of whom five afterwards entered the ministry. While in Washington, Mr. Dod preached there one-third of his time and divided the remainder between the two places at Ten-mile. At the expiration of the time for which he had engaged, he was prevailed on to continue three months longer. Mr. Johnston, who had been teaching in the English department ; was appointed his successor. Some time in the next winter the Court House was burned; and there was no suitable building to be had in town. The Rev. Messrs. M'Millan and Henderson went together to Washington, and requested J. Hoge, Esq., who was the proprietor, and also trustee, to make a donation of a lot on which to erect a building. Dis- couraged by his refusal, they went and asked the same of Col. Canon, of Canonsburg, who not only gave the ground, but otherwise contributed liberally to the cause. An Acad- emy was erected at Canonsburg. Mr. Johnston was made its principal; and Washington Academy suspended operations for a number of years. Dr. M'Millan was one of the principal agents in getting up the Academy at Washington, was one of a committee to solicit subscriptions for its support, and con- tinued his patronage till, by the circumstance above related, he was induced to abandon it; after which he became the most efficient supporter of the institution at Canonsburg. He does not seem, however, to have considered the latter as growing out of his Latin school, for we find he wrote to Dr. Carnahan : "I had still a few with me when the Academy was opened at Canonsburg, and finding that I could not teach and do justice to my congregation, I immediately gave it up and sent them there." Such was the origin of the two literary Institutions in Western Pennsylvania. The Rev. Joseph Smith, of Buffalo, Washington eounty, who came out to the West in the year 1780, early distin- guished himself by his efforts to aid in preparing young men for the ministry. The following statement, given to the INTRODUCTION — LOG CABIN SCHOOLS. 13 public, some years ago, in "Old Redstone/' may not impro- perly be again introduced in this place, though we have cheerfully modified it, with the desire of bringing it into harmony with the foregoing account of Mr. Dod's school. Mr. Smith was anxious from the first, after he settled in the West, to look out for, and aid in preparing young men to preach the gospel. He was among the first who moved in this matter. The first school that was opened exclusively with a view to the training of young men for the sacred office, is believed to have been begun by Mr. Smith, at Upper Buffalo, as early, at least, as 1785. The Rev. Joseph Patter- son says, in a note, on a small package of letters, written principally to his wife, found among his papers after his death : "In the fall of 1785, being thirty-three years old, it was thought best, with the advice of the Presbytery of Red- stone, that I should endeavor to prepare for the gospel ministry. There being no places of public education in this country, I, with a few others, studied with the Rev. Joseph >Smith, of Buffalo congregation, Washington county, Pa., being partially absent from my family," &c. The subject of opening such a school had pressed heavily on Mr. Smith's mind for some time. There was one difficulty in his way; he had no suitable house. But he had recently erected a house adjoining his dwelling house, to serve as a kitchen and outhouse. If his wife would be willing to sur- render that, for a while, and fall back on their former hampered domestic system, it could be done. He stated the case to her. She cordially acquiesced in the plan, and warmly seconded his views. Almost immediately this Latin school was begun. Messrs. M'Gready, Porter and Patterson began their course. Soon after, James Hughes and John Brice, who had already been with Mr. Dod, joined them. This school for the languages and sciences was continued some time; and then, by some mutual arrangement, was transferred and surrendered to the care of Dr. M'Millan, near 2 14 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. Canonsburg. This we regard as the period when Dr. M'Millan's school took its more distinctive form as a Latin school; or rather, perhaps, was enlarged, so as to include a course of classical and scientific studies, as its more promi- nent feature. This view of the case harmonizes with Dr. M'Millan's statement to Dr. Carnahan, given in a previous note, and with a passage in a manuscript in his own hand- writing, where, speaking of the origin of his ministerial, school, and not of the school in its previous state, he says : "Accordingly, I collected a few who gave evidence of piety, and instructed them in the knowledge of Latin, Greek, &c, viz : James Hughes, John Brice, James M'Gready, Samuel Porter, &c." These were a part of the materials with which he says his school began, and he mentions none that preceded them. Lideed this list corresponds with what he mentions about the second set of ministers in the West, and with the records of the Kedstone Presbytery, that gave no account of any earlier licentiates. Now as all the persons that are here mentioned were either with Mr. Dod, or Mr. Smith, before they were under the instructions of Dr. M'Millan, it is thus ascertained that though Dr. M'Millan's school may have been first organized, as we believe it was, it did not assume the more distinctive form of a Latin school for training candi- dates for the ministry, until his colleagues had been for some time giving instructions with that view, and perhaps until they both ceased to teach their schools. The statement given to us, some years ago, by Mrs. Irwin, an aged, but very intelligent lady, then residing in Marysville, Ohio, since deceased, respecting Mr. Smith and his school, is too remark- able to be omitted here, though already published in "Old Redstone," p. 77. It is in substance, as follows — (and her pastor, the Rev. Mr. Smith, testified that it has been her unvaried statement for many years, and he has no doubt of her memory being perfectly good in this case,) — "That she was between twelve and fifteen years of age, living near Mr. INTRODUCTION — LOO CABIN SCHOOLS. 15 Smith's, one of his spiritual children, took a great interest at the time in what Mr. Smith did in this matter, and all her life after familiarly remembered the following facts : that in 1785, Mr. Smith opened a small school, for assisting and training young men for the gospel ministry ; that Messrs. M'Gfready, Brice, Porter and Patterson began their course with him, Mr. James Hughes soon after joining them; that Mr. M'Gready came from Dr. M'Millan's, with whom he had been living, not as a student, but as a laborer on his farm ; that five congregations, through the ladies, united in furnish- ing these students, (with the exception of Mr. M'Gready,) with clothing, viz : Buffalo, Cross Creek, Chartiers, Bethel and Ten -mile; that they made up summer and winter clothing, for several of these young men (coloring linen for summer wear, in a dye, made of new-moWn hay, and sending woolen cloth, by merchants, east of the mountains, to be ful fed and dressed, and brought back with them on their return,) that this was the first movement made for preparing young men for the ministry ; that there was no stich school, at this time, at Chartiers, nor until after the one at Buffaio was discontinued; that Mrs. M'Millan and the Chartiers ladies took their share in this effort to sustain this school at Buffalo, Mr. M'Gready coming from Dr. M'Millan's to the school." This is very explicit testimony. If it conflicts with the account given of Mr. Dod's school, it may easily be supposed that she was not aware of what Mr. Dod had done, as his place of residence lay at some distance from Buffalo. It may be thought, indeed, that Mr. Smith's school was rather a divinity hall ; but the period at which the several persons Mrs. Irwin mentions, were licensed to preach the gospel — which was some years after — much longer than students for the ministry, in those days, studied theology — shows conclusively that preparatory studies were embraced in Mr. Smith's school. The interesting fact, brought to light by Mrs. Irwin's narrative, of the efforts of the ladies in those days, to assist in the cause of education, is a striking feature 16 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. of those early times. We are here reminded of the testimony borne by the Rev. Robert Patterson, in his letter to Dr. Brown, (to be hereafter referred to,) to the generous piety of the wives of the Rev. Messrs. Smith and M'Millan. "It should be here stated," says Mr. Patterson, "that for want of suitable places elsewhere, the students generally lodged in the minister's family, without profit and sometimes at consid- erable expense to the household. In this service and toil, the wives of these two godly ministers heartily concurred. I knew them well; and they were both eminently mothers in Israel." We cannot learn that either the Rev. Matthew Henderson, or the Rev. John Clark, of Lebanon and Bethel churches, had any personal charge of a school. They doubtless lent their special attention in promoting good schools in their congregations. But no other schools than those of which we have now given some account, existed at that early period, in Washington county. We speak, of course, of those above the grade of common English schools. Having now related the first efforts made in the cause of education west of the moun- tains, we have cleared our way to an entrance upon the history of the first school at Canonsburg. Note. — A very able and elaborate paper, furnished to us by Prof. Robert Patterson, of Oakland College, Miss., in which the claims of Dr. M'Millan's " Log Cabin" school to priority as a Latin school are defended, will be found in the Appendix. CHAPTER II. THE CANONSBURG ACADEMY. By whom the Academy founded — David Johnston, first teacher — Dr. M'Mil- lan'a position at first — His " Log-cabin " school merged into Academy — Movement of Synod of Virginia — Redstone Presbytery selected Canons- burg — Interesting ceremony of opening Academy — Porsons ongagod in it — First student, R. Patterson; sketch of his life and character — Notice in Pittsburgh Gaz.otte — Contributions for Acadomy — Specimen of their char- acter — Charter in 1794— First Trustees — Petition to Legislature in 1796 — Teachers, Mr. Johnston, Mr. Samuel Millar, Mr. Mountain and Mr. Stockton — Action of Presbyteries — Literary Societies — Contests — Secret affiliated Societies. The precise date of the first movement towards the forma- tion of a school at Canonsburg, above the grade of a common English school, cannot be ascertained. There were living in *nd near what afterwards became the village of Canonsburg, several respectable, public-spirited gentlemen, such as Col. John Canon, (on whose land the town was laid out and thence took its name,) Judge James Allison, Judge John 31'Doivett, Alexander Cook } E-n., Messrs. James Foster, Thomas Breelcer } Robert Ralston, and others; who, perhaps, some time before 1789, held frequent conferences about getting up such a school. These gentlemen were then generally living in log cabins, aud wore hunting shirts. Some of these conferences were very possibly held at log-rollings, house-raisings, or corn-huakings. The country was still comparatively a wil- derness. William Darby, Esq., whose memory was remark- ably tenacious as to dates, has stated in a letter which he wrote in 1850, that "through 1789 and 1790 the Academy 18 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. was in operation." Through both these years the Indians were still giving much annoyance to the western settlements of Washington county. And these troubles reached their greatest height during the following year. But this future home of science and literature was even then begun. It was, of course, in its most embryo state. It is ascertained that during 1791, that eventful year of trial and sorrow in West- ern Pennsylvania, the services of Mr. David Johnston, who had, during a part of that and of the previous year, taught at Washington, were secured. At this time Dr. M'Millan' s school, in the celebrated Log-cabin, near his own house, two miles from Canonsburg, was still in operation. This school was continued for some time after the Canonsburg school was set on foot, under the patronage of some, if not all, of the persons named above. Dr. M'Millan was, up to this time, and for a year or two before, interested in behalf of the Academy at Washington, of which he was a trustee, along with Rev. Messrs. Henderson, Joseph Smith, and others; and was therefore committed to its interests. But he and others soon became discouraged in that enterprise. In an important paper found on the Records of the Trustees of Jefferson College, dated December 29, 1817, in the Doctor's own handwriting, it is stated as follows: "In the year 1787, the Legislature of this State granted a donation of lands, for the purpose of erecting and supporting an Academy in the town of Wash- ington. The Rev. Messrs. Matthew Henderson, Joseph Smith, John M'Millan, and others, used their influence and best endeavors to get this Academy into operation, for the purpose of promoting literature among the inhabitants of the Western counties in general; and also, with the fond hope that the loud calls and repeated demands for preachers of the of the gospel might be supplied from that institution. But so indifferent were the inhabitants of that town to the interests of literature in general, and to the demands of the church in particular, that, notwithstanding the State donation, an Acad- THE CANONSBURQ ACADEMY. 19 emy could not be supported. The Rev. Mr. Dod, and after him Mr. David Johnston, made the attempt, by engaging as teachers; but were forced to give up the benevolent design, through the indifference and inattention of a majority of the trustees. When the hopes of Mr. M'Millan were blasted by the indifference and inattention of the trustees of the Academy at Washington, he turned his attention to Canonsburg, as a place of greater hope and more suited to his views. He solic- ited donations from private individuals for erecting an Acad- emy at that place, and succeeded. The Legislature granted a charter in 1794. A house was built; and a Latin and Greek school, which he had kept at his own house for the purpose of supplying the churches, as far as practicable, was translated to this infant Academy." We have given this extract, not to endorse some of the rather severe and caustic reflections on the trustees and people at Washington, but as a historical testimony, as to the period when Dr. M'Millan's school coalesced with and was merged into the school at Canonsburg. That this latter school had a prior existence, in some humbler form, and was not merely an out-growth from the Log-cabin school, is proved, first, from Mr. Darby's statement, ("Old Redstone," page 193.) "I often passed there on week-days. Though the Academy was then estab- lished in Canonsburg, the school (at Dr. M'Millan's,) was still in operation, but when discontinued I cannot state." Secondly, from Dr. M'Millan's own language, in an original manuscript of the Doctor's in our possession : "I had still a few with me when the Academy was opened; but, finding that I could not teach and do justice to my congregation, I immediately gave it up and sent them there." Thirdly, from the Rev. R, Patterson's statement this is also inferred. In a letter to the Rev. Dr. M. Brown, dated October 1, 184G, he states that a conference of ministers and citizens took place in July, 1791, to determine the locality of an institution on a more enlarged scale, commensurate with the growing demands ■■•' 20 HISTORY 01* JEFFERSON COLLEGE. of the church and the country. The two points respectively advocated by Dr. M'Millan and Col. Canon, were the Log- cabin, near Dr. M'Millan' s, and the town of Canonsburg. Into which of the already existing schools should the other coalesce and be merged, with a view to a larger academy, was the question. It was decided in favor of Canonsburg; and the two schools were very soon, thus united. This is our view of the whole case. And the above stated facts and tes- timony are adduced in its support.* * It will be seen in the progress of our account, that, according to the Rev. R. Patterson's recolloctions, Professor Miller was then teaching and conducting this original school ; and that Mr. David Johnston, about the middle of the summer, was also engaged, not to supersede, as we suppose, Professor Miller, who taught the English branches and the mathematics, but to teach the classical department. Our view of the whole matter is, that there was, first, Mr. Miller's school, sustained by the gentlemen in and around Canonsburg — then this school, enlarged by the employment of Mr. Johnston, still, in fact, under tho direction and control of these gentlemen. Messrs. M'Millan, Henderson, and Smith, at this time, when tho school was enlarged, heartily co-operated with thoin in this movement, not officially as trustees, nor as members of tho "Academy and Library Company," which the name they gave themselves about this time. Perhaps tho relations of there three ministers to tho Washington Academy were still such as to rend r .• £ irmal n lation to the " Company " improper) perhaps they regarded tho whole enterprise as much better to bo left in the hands of those gentle- man, and more likely to succeed in finding favor with the Legislature of tho . But they lent their hearty agency in enlarging the foundations of irting it on its new i-.u-^cv. Dr. M'Millan may, at this time, have fully made up his mind that it should supersede ami take the placo of tho "Log-cabin" school. And so it might have been understood by all parties concerned. Put we think that in tho strict history of the case, there . a coalescence between the Institution already begun at Can msburg, and now further enlarged, and the "Log-cabin" school — i tbof than a bias often been assortod, that "the Canonsburg Academy grow cabin* and was simply an enlargement of it. That the ;. i abin " 3chool into tho Canonsburg Academy, and the mi of Dr. M'Millan and of the Presbyteries and churches, life and vigor to the Academy, cannot be doubted: and this will bo appar m in the progress of this history. Though there was no formal recognitii o of the facts above stated on tho part of tho "Acatlemy and THE CANONSBTJRG ACADEMY. 21 Another important event about this time occurred. The Synod of Virginia, October 1st, 1791, took measures to get up two institutions, one in the bounds of the Presbytery of Lexington, Virginia, and the other in the bounds of the Presbytery of Redstone, (then including all Western Penn- sylvania and Virginia,) for the purpose, especially, of aiding poor and pious young men in their preparation for the gospel ministry. For a full account of this matter, the reader is referred to the note below.* The latter institution was placed under the immediate care of the Presbytery of Redstone. And Dr. M'Millan was appointed by the Synod to take the Library Company," or their trustees, tto have no doubt they well knew the Academy would have speedily gone down but for these main elomonts of its life. Why there was not a greater prominence given to these features of the case, it may now be difficult to say. Perhaps, as we have already intimated, it may have been thought wiser and more prudent. With such men as Col. Canon, Judge M'Dowoll, Judge Allison, and others, some of thorn ruling elders; Messrs. Henderson, M'Millan and Smith, may have rightly thought the whole enterprise, in this way, would be perfectly safe and would succeed better. * The Synod of Virginia, at their session in Winchester, October 1, 1791, appointed a committee, of which tho Rev. Joseph Smith was chairman, to form a plan for promoting the education of persons for the ministry of the gospel, and to bring in an overture on the subject. Upon the report of this cOmmit- ' tee, the Synod having considered the same, and made such amendments and additions as were judgod necessary, agreed to it — as follows:, "As tho sup- plying of churches with a pious and well qualified ministry is of acknow- ledged importance — overtured — 1st. That the Synod of Virginia undertako the patronage of a seminary of learning for the purpose of educating young men for the gospel ministry. 2d. That they devise means for supporting or assisting young men of piety and genius in procuring an education, who may not be possessed of sufficient property for the purpose. The ' Synod highly approve of the proposition contained in tho overture, as they are well con- vinced of the necessity of extending the opportunities of acquiring knowledge, and especially the knowledge of the doctrines of religion, to all who intend to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.' Taking this measure therefore into serious consideration, the Synod recommend that there be two general institutions for learning conducted under the patronage of this body; one to be established in Rockbridge county, Virginia, under the care of the Rev. William Graham, as the president; tho other in Washington county, 22 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. management and direction of it. The Redstone Presbytery, a few weeks after the action of the Synod of Virginia, (Octo- ber 18, 1791,) having met at Pigeon Creek, approved of the recommendation of their Synod, and appointed Dr. M'Millan their treasurer, and " ordered their members to use their best endeavors to obtain contributions for the purpose and put Pennsylvania, under the caro of the Rev. John M'Millan. The principles upon which those institutions are to be conducted are as follows : " 1st. The learned languages and usual circle of sciences shall be taught in thorn, to as many as shall bo sent there for instruction. "2d. During the course of academical education, and from the first initiation of the students into the seminaries, a course of religious instruction shall also bo entered upon, and continually adhered to during their residence there, according to the principles of our church. Books of a practical and doctrinal nature shall be put into their hands at once. Catechetical lectures shall be established and examinations entered into, upon their progress in this kind of knowledge, from time to time. The attention to these studies shall be kept up during the whole of their academical course, and suited to tho capacities and progress of the youth. " 3d. Tho Presbyteries of Lexington and Hanover shall be tho trustees of the seminary in Rockbridge, to cherish it by their influence, and pointedly to attend the examinations of tho students, either in a collective capacity, or by committees from their respective bodies, duly appointed. The Prosby- tory of Redstono shall, in like manner, superintend the seminary in Wash- ington county. "4th. In one or other of these institutions, it is the advice of the Synod, that all the youth within our bounds who intend to engage in the ministry of tho gospel, shall bo instructed. " 5th. As thoro are a number of pious youth in our country who might bo servicablo in preaching tho gospol, but, through want of sufficient ability, are unable to obtain an education; it is tho intention and desire of Synod that the ministers in their respective Presbyteries shall sook out such, and that they, being examined and approved by tho Presbytory, shall bo placed in the respective seminaries, at the expense of the Presbytery who shall approve them. " 6th. In order to obtain the proper supplies for such indigent students, the Presbyteries aro exhorted to use their influence, in their respective bounds, with the pious and benevolont, to make annual contributions for raising a fund for this purpose : this fund to bo placed in the hands of the treasurers appointed by the Synod, who are to return annual accounts of receipts and expenditures; and from it tho youth, upon tho foundation, aro to draw their THE OANONSBURG ACADEMY. 23 them into the hands of Dr. M'Millan as soon as possible, and of their diligence therein to render an account at the next spring meeting." No precise location, otherwise than Washington county, was determined by the Synod as to the Western Institution. The probability is, that the Synod, though leaving that mat- ter entirely open for the action of the Presbytery of Bedstone, supposed, or took it for granted, so far as they knew the views of Messrs. Smith and M'Millan, and the course pursued by those brethren, that the location would be either Washington or Canonsburg, just according as these places and their vicini- ties might evince the more decided practical co-operation. These two remarkable men were the most prominent movers in the whole business at Synod. Mr. Smith was chairman of the committee who reported the whole paper on the subject. But they were both trustees of the Academy at Washington. Mr. Smith lived comparatively in the vicinity, and his con- gregation included some then living in or near Washington. But he, sharing with Dr. M'Millan in desponding feelings about the further prospects of Washington Academy, had united with Messrs. M' Millan, Henderson, and others, but a few months before, in a memorable transaction at Canons- burg, which we shall presently relate. But though he had aided in a movement to get up the Canonsburg Academy, as he was still a trustee at Washington, and he had not yet lost his interest in that place, or his hope of reviving that sus- pended school, it was, perhaps, his special desire that the Synod should leave the precise location of the Presbyterial supplies, by an order from their respective presidents. And those youth, upon their obtaining their education, at the expiration of one year, after being settled in some line of business, shall begin to refund to the treasury the expenses of their education, in such time and manner as the Presbytery may direct. " 7th. The rules of these seminaries and the mode of education therein, shall be submitted to the Presbyteries for their respective approbation." — " Old Redstone," pp. 423-5. 24 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. school undetermined. He soon after finished his course by a triumphant death. Had he lived, it is hard to say, what his influence might have been in determining the place of the school, and in modifying its whole character. We have already seen that Dr. M'Millan lost his confidence in the institution at Washington. He considered it as dead. The Presbytery, perhaps, partook largely of his views and feel- ings. At their next three meetings, however, they took no decisive action on the subject. It was a time of unusual trouble, from the Indians. The country was in a state of great distraction. Perhaps, also, they thought it prudent to take time sufficient to enable them to determine wisely what they would do as to the manner and place of carrying out the recommendation of the Synod. At length, when they met at Pigeon Creek, October 18, 1792, the question of location, as to the institution intrusted to their care by the Synod, was fully considered, and the several places — Washington, the Log-cabin, and Canonsburg, were, perhaps, advocated by their respective friends, " The Presbytery unanimously agreed to appoint Canonsburg to be the seat of that institution of learn- ing, which they are appointed by Synod to superintend ; and that all the young men, taken upon the fund for the support of poor and pious youth, shall be educated there." An attempt was made, subsequently, to get the Presbytery to reconsider their action. But it resulted only in a kind of compromise, by the adoption of the following resolution, viz : "That if it should appear, at a future day, most conducive to the good of the church, that another seminary of the like nature should be erected in our bounds, we will not oppose a division of the funds." This was at Rehoboth, April 18, 1793. This determination of the Presbytery to make Canons- burg the seat of their institution, though it did not result in securing to the Presbytery any control over the Academy, or any right or power to sit, as a co-ordinate branch of the Board of Trustees, or to elect or even nominate any of the THE CANONSBURQ ACADEMY. 25 trustees or teachers, was, nevertheless, so adjusted, or led to such arrangements with the trustees, as to answer, in their view, the design of the Synod, in fact, though not in form. There is, indeed, a singular minute in the records of the Board, for 1796, hereafte-r to be noticed, in which the Pres- bytery of Ohio is mentioned, as uniting with the trustees in agreeing to support two teachers of the languages. But other- wise, we have found not the faintest trace of anything like ecclesiastical supervision ever exercised over the Academy. Having given this account of the doings of the church, through her judicatures, in reference to our institution, we must now turn back a little. It appears that in July, 1791, it was settled, at a conference of citizens and ministers, numerously attended, that the incip- ient steps should be taken, for getting the Academy under way. Col. Canon made a donation of a lot for the erection of a suitable building. He undertook to put up, immediately, a large stone edifice, and have it prepared as soon as possible ; his expenses to be reimbursed afterwards, as the trustees might be able to provide. In the meantime, it was thought proper to open the Academy at once, on the ensuing day. The Rev. Robert Patterson's account of the proceedings of that day is so graphic and life-like, that we shall let him tell the story : "An appointment was made to meet the next day, Tues- day, 10 o'clock, A. M., in a small English school house, near Canon's mill, about half a mile from the village; and a general invitation was given to all friends of learning and of their country, to attend ; and then and there to see the Canonsburg Academy opened. Meantime, Mr. David Johnston, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, who had, without success, been trying to open a Latin school in the town of Washington, was invited to attend, and take charge of the young Academy. At 10 o'clock, on Tuesday morning, many citizens were present on the ground, to witness the 3 26 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. opening of the first academy on the west side of the Alle- gheny mountains. Of the inhabitants of the town and vicin- ity, there were present, Judges M'Dowell and Allison, Craig Ritchie, Esq., and Rev. Matthew Henderson, living at a few miles distance. Mr. Henderson was a Scotch seceder clergy- man, Messed with Scotch talents, Scotch education, Scotch theology, and Scotch piety ; his memory is still highly cher- ished, as a worthy cotemporary of Messrs. M'Millan and Smith. These three ministers, with Mr. Johnston and two pupils, William Riddle and Robert Patterson, who had recited a few lessons to Abraham Scott, took their position under the shade of some sassafras bushes, growing in a worm fence, neai the English school house, which could not be vacated for a short time. And here, under the pleasant shade of the green bushes, protected from the rays of a July sun, (corona pop- uli parva circiimxtanfc,) the two pupils, with ' Corderii Collo- quia ' in their hands, were just about to read ' Quid agis, ' when Mr. M'Millan, addressing his two brethren, and the small assembly, remarked in substance, as follows : ' This is an important day in our history, affecting deeply the inter- ests of the church, and of the country in the West ; affecting our own interests for time and for eternity, and the interests, it may be, of thousands and thousands yet unborn.' And, turning to Mr. Henderson, asked him to engage in prayer, seeking the blessings of God on the institution now to be opened. And I must say, the broad vernacular pronuncia- tion of the Scotch tongue never could be more delightful and impressive than it was then ; while every thing proper to the occasion appeared to be remembered in prayer, by this good man. * The first lesson in the Academy was soon recited. Robert Patterson, "j- being the senior, led, beginning the first *For a sketch of the Life of Mr. Henderson, see Appendix. f The Rev. Ilobcrt Patterson— the first student of Canonsburg Academy, was born April 1, 1773, at Stillwater, New York, near the spot afterwards celebrated as one of the most obstinately contested fiolds of the Revolution. THE CANONSBURG ACADEMY. 27 sentence as above, ' Quid . On his way to Philadelphia, a journey then performed only on horse- back, he met the forces sent out by Government to quell the Whisky Insur- rection. After his graduation, Mr. Patterson was engaged, for nearly five year.-, as tutor in the University, and in the further prosecution of his classi- cal and mathematical course. He returned to his father's residence, at P.acoon, in April, 1800, and was licensed to preach in April, 1801, having pursued his theological studies with the Bev. Dr. Ashbol Green, one year in Philadelphia, and ono year afterwards with the Bev. Dr. M'Millan. In August, 1 801, he was united in marriage to Miss Jane, daughter of Col. John Can ii, of Canonsburg; and in the F.sll of 1802, was installed pastor of the congregations of Upper and Lower Greenfield, in the bounds of the Presby- tery of Erie. In this pastoral charge, supplementing at the same time, a ler ministerial support by the working of a farm, he continued four and a half years ; when, in April, 1807, he accepted an invitation to take charge .of the Academy at Pittsburgh, now the Western University of Pennsylvania. During the three years he presided over this institution, ho numbered among his pupils many who afterwards filled prominent public stations, and who often spoke in grateful terms of his care and faithfulness as an instructor. 28 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. Henderson had been in the beginning ; and the little assem- bly retired much gratified, and with high expectations, which have been abundantly realized. The English school was soon vacated, and served for a place of recitation till autumn, when Col. Canon had so far progressed with a fine large stone building, as to afford convenient accommodation, both to teachers and students. Mr. Miller, who had been the teacher in the English school, was retained, and employed as professor From 1810 to 1836, Mr. Patterson was engaged in the business of booksell- ing, and for a portion of the time in paper manufacturing, having been one of the proprietors of one of the first paper mills established in the West. His business operations carried on, more or less extensively, for more than a quarter of a century, and causing him to be widely known in this capacity, throughout the Western country many years ago, were attended with many changes and sevore reverses. During the greater part of this time, Mr. Pat- terson was pastor of the Highlands congregation, in the Presbytery of Ohio. The people of this charge have often affectionately remembered his faithful ministrations through a long series of years, and the recollection of the rela- tionship he had sustained to them, with its many pleasing associations, was a theme of grateful acknowledgment, on his part, to the latest period of his life. In 1840, Mr. Patterson removed from Pittsburgh a few miles into tho country. So long as the infirmities of increasing age would permit, he man- ifested his continued interest in the service of his Divine Master, by preach- ing or lecturing occasionally in the congregation with which he worshiped. For many years the things unseen, and eternal, formed a prominent subject in almost every conversation in which he took part. Scarce an acquain- tance, or even an entire stranger, who, in passing his late residence, has ever had with him the briefest interchange of friendly greeting, but could add his testimony to that of the Rev. R. Lea, who, in conducting the religious exer- cises at his funeral, remarked that ho did not remember a single conversa- tion with him for years, were the interview long or short, in which the subject of religion had not been introduced. But in his own home, his spirituality of character, and his heavenly Handedness, shono with their brightest lustre. On his death bed, he enjoyed great peace. His remarks and broken sen- tences showed that whilst affectionately regarding those around him, his thoughts wore with that Saviour he was so soon to see. On Sabbath after- noon he lapsed into a state of almost lethargy, which continued with little interruption until Tuesday, Septomber 5, 1854, when, without a struggle or a sigh, he fell asleep in Jesus. Thus diod that excellent man, who, when a boy, under the sassafras bushos, road the first lesson in Cordorii, at tho oponing of Canonsburg Academy. THE CANONSBURG ACADEMY. 29 in the mathematical sciences, and proved to be an instructor of the highest order, and continued to fill the place thirty or forty years; as long as he was able to discharge its duties. His memory is greatly cherished by hundreds, who were taught by him. In a short time, more students came from the region of country around than could have been generally expected, in a land that, a few years before, had been an Indian wilderness. On the roll, in a few weeks, were entered Abraham Scott, Robert Patterson, William Wylie, Thomas Swearengen, James Snodgrass, Ebenezer Henderson, James Duncan, James Allison, Joseph Doddridge, Darsey Pentecost, James Dunlavy, Daniel M'Lean, William Kerr, Philip Dodd- ridge, and Alexander Campbell. " * The institution was got up by an association of ministers and citizens. They called themselves " Contributors to the Academy and Library ; " and about the time above indicated, by previous appointment, they met, and chose by ballot, trus- tees. The charter, which they afterwards obtained, desig- nated them " The Academy and Library Company. " Their constitution required nine trustees, to be elected annually, by those who had contributed to the Academy and Library, and who were entitled to enjoy the benefits of the Library, agreeably to certain regulations. But of their earlier meet- ings, previous to the date of their charter, and of their mode of proceeding, nothing but tradition now remains. We do not know with certainty who were the nine first trustees. There can be little doubt, however, that they were nearly, if not quite, the same that we find in the recorded minutes in 1796. f * Extract of a letter from Mr. Patterson to Dr. M. Brown, in 1845. -j- When the academy was fairly under way, and the new building finished and opened for instructions, the trustees inserted in the Pittsburgh Gazette, in 1792, tho following notice: " The building for the Academy at Canonsburg is now finished, and the institution under good regulations. The Grammar School is taught by Mr. 3* 30 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. The contributions for the support of the Academy were gathered from the congregations of the Presbyterians and Seceders through the Western country. The ministers were, in many cases, very active in gathering these offerings from their people. They consisted not solely in money, but in produce and articles of every description. These offerings, (chiefly by promise or subscription,) were made by nearly all Presbyterian congregations in the West, for the purpose both of refunding Col. Canon the cost of the Academy, and of aiding in payment of teachers, besides occasionally with a view of raising means to support, in part, young men who were candidates for the gospel ministry. The history of the proceedings of one minister, the Rev. Joseph Patterson, will suflice for a sample of what was generally done in the con- gregations west of the mountains. It appears, by the dates of the payments made by him, sometimes to Mr. M'Millan, Johnston; and the English, Euclid's Elements of Geometry, Trigonometry, Plain and Spherical, with the latter's application to Astronomy; Naviga- ion, Surveying, Mensuration, Gauging, Dialing Conic Sections, Algebra, and Book-Keeping, by Mr. Miller ; both well known for their attention and abilities. Boarding in the neighborhood to bo had at good houses, at the low price of ten pounds, payable, principally, in produce. The situation is healthy, near the centre of Washington county; the fund raised by the Presbytery, and to be applied for the support of a certain number of scholars, annually, is directed by the Synod of the district to be appropriated to this Academy. It is hoped the public will regard with a favorable eye this institution, and give it all the encouragement that it may deserve. "Nov. 2,1792. "N. B. The printers in the different States will please insert the above in their newspapers. " This is truly an interesting paper, proving that science and literature were opening their stores, on the very outskirts of civilization, at a period when the savages of the forest had not yet ceased to prowl around the borders of western settlements, and even to cherish the hope of repossessing Washing- ton county as a hunting ground. If they could have read and understood this advertisement, they must have felt somewhat as Hanibal felt, whon he found that the Romans were selling the lots on which his army was encamped at their gates. The above notice may be seen in the Lyceum, at Jeffarson College. THE CANONSBURG ACADEMY. 31 as treasurer, and sometimes to Col. Canon, that the cost of the Academy was not all refunded for several years — some of the receipts being as late as 1794-5. There are found among the papers of Mr. Patterson, two subscription rolls of differ- ent date, but containing in part the same names ; the latest of the two being dated in June, 1794; the last also stating that it was for the purpose both of finishing the Academy, and for aid to poor and pious students. One of the papers has about one hundred and twenty names, and the other not quite one hundred. But little was paid at the time of sub- scribing ; and but little, at any time, in money ; great part in grain, wheat, rye ; and no small portion in linen ; the linen, chiefly by the ladies : some by widows, and some by wives and daughters of the men who had subscribed. The sums were in Pennsylvania currency ; and a large portion of them did not exceed 3s. 9d. — 7s. 6d., and a few advanced to 10s. and 15s., and still fewer to £1. The grain was delivered in mills, and then sold. The linen was sometimes delivered to the Treasurer, to be disposed of as he could, at Is. l|d., per yard, or 25 cents. One subscription was to be paid in Wh Ishy ! All are reported on the papers to have been fully paid ; and the amount of both subscriptions reached nearly $350. The following subscription paper will be found very inter- esting : "June 9th, 1794. We, whose names are hereunto signed, desirous to forward the Academy building, at Canonsburg, do promise, for that purpose, to pay, or deliver into some mill, in the bounds of the Rev. Joseph Patterson's congrega- tion, the epiantities of wheat or rye annexed to our names, and deliver the receipts thereof to said Patterson, on or before the end of this present year. " The following may be selected among the long list o^ names found on this interesting paper : 32 HISTORY OE JEFFERSON COLLEGE. James Ewing, 5 bushels of wheat, at 2 shillings. William Flanegan, 1 " " " « Robert Moor, 2 " " " " John Logan, 2 " " " " James Laird, 4 " « « « Samuel Riddle, (in money,) 7s. Cd. John M'Millan, cash, $1. Joseph Patterson, cash, $6. Mrs. Vallandingharn, 6 yards of linen. Mrs. Elenor Thompson, 3. yards of linen. John Kelso, 4 bushels of wheat. John Thompson, 4 " " James M'Bride, 3 bushels of rye. Hugh M'Coy, 4 " " Alexander M'Candless, 2 bushels of wheat. John Gardike, (a pious negro,) 2 bushels of wheat. George vallandingharn, cash, 7s. 6d. Mrs. Nesbit, 3 yards of linen. Widow Riddle, 3 " " Her daughter Mary, 3 " " "The value of these old papers," says Professor R. Patter- son, who furnished them to Dr. Brown, "consists in their exhibiting the spirit of the enterprise, the objects for which the institution was founded, and the humble resources of its patrons. Such unassuming donations as two or three yards of linen, four or five bushels of wheat, rye or corn, four pounds of tea, would astonish the present race of students at Canonsburg." In this manner, for the noblest purpose, among a simple and hard working people, in the seclusion of the valley of Chartiers, was laid the foundation of a retreat for learning, whose halls would be resorted to, and whose influence felt, when the country, at that time a wilderness, would be teeming with a busy and enterprising population. May the far-sighted sagacity and wide-reaching philanthropy THE CANONSBURO ACADEMY. 33 of its sires descend upon its sons. Then and there commenced an institution whose pupils were thereafter to be found in every honorable profession in their native country — in the sacred desk, at the bed-side of the sick, in the courts of justice, and in legislative halls. Others bearing the everlasting gospel to distant shores, exerting their abilities, acquired or strength- ened here, to elevate and enlighten the infidel European, the superstitious Hindoo, the degraded Chinese, and the wild Indian of our own land. In view of the circumstances attending the formation of this institution, the sons of Jeffer- son College need not fear that their Alma Mater will be like " The tower which builders vain, Presumptuous piled on Shinar's plain." Thus began the Canonsburg Academy, and such the history of the first years of its existence. It began in prayer and was supported by religious patriotism; and, therefore, no wonder it has remarkably flourished and gained a noble rank among the literary institutions of the United States. In the year 1791 a charter was granted, incorporating the trustees of "The Academy and Library Company, in the town of Canonsburg." This charter or act of incorporation was granted by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, of which Judge M'Kean was the Chief Justice, agreeably to an act of the Legislature, April 6, 1791, entitled, "An act to confer on certain citizens of this Commonwealth, the power and immunities of bailies, politic and law." This gave it a legal existence. This charter the venerable founders did not get till the institution was some years advanced in its glorious career. But, as Dr. Brown says, "They had a charter from a higher authority than the Legislature of Pennsylvania, or the Supreme Court, venerable as it then was. They sought and obtained a charter from the Court of Heaven." It is obvious that neither the Presbyteries, nor the church as such, acted officially, or were, in any way, recognised in the whole proceedings. It was the "Academy and Library Company." 34 . HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. "We do not believe that those good men would have had the smallest objection that the Presbyteries of Redstone and Ohio, and the Seceder Presbytery of Chartiers, should hold what- ever relation, officially, they might have preferred. But it was, perhaps, regarded as wiser, on all hands, that the insti- tution, being a candidate for an act of incorporation, for Legislative aid, and eventually for a College charter, should be divested of an ecclesiastical character. There was, at that time, much inveterate prejudice, in reference to ecclesiastical endowments, by legislative enactments. If the Academy had assumed the name and form of such an institution as was contemplated by the Synod of Virginia, it would have proba- bly been refused a charter and all legislative aid, and, in that event, could scarcely have been sustained. Our forefathers, both lay and clerical, were, in these matters, wise and good men. From 1796 down to the period to which we propose to extend this historical sketch, we shall derive our principal aid from the records which were kept by the trustees. Previous to that time no minutes of their proceedings are to be found. These old records begin in this form: " January 25, 1796. The trustees of Canonsburg Academy met at Col. Canon's, according to appointment. Members present, Robert Rals- ton, John M'Dowell, Thomas Brecken, John Canon, James Foster, James Allison, and Alexander Cook." Mr. Allison was chosen president, and Mr. Cook, clerk. On the opposite page there is a statement without any date, as to the year, "of a meeting, on the first Tuesday of October, of a number of contributors, who proceeded to vote, by ballot, for trustees of the Academy and Library, the result of which was, that John Canon, John M'Dowell, Craig Ritchie, Robert Ralston, Thomas Brecken, James Allison, James Foster, David Grault, and Alexander Cook were duly elected." But as no date of year is given, we cannot tell whether it was in October, immediately previous to the January meeting, above noticed, THE CANON SBURG ACADEMY. 35 or back, some years before, at the original formation of this first literary association of the West. The latter, we are inclined to suppose from the prominent place this minute occupies — being entered on the blank leaf which precedes the regular recorded minutes. At this meeting, in January, 1796, the trustees prepared and adopted a petition to the Legislature of the State, praying, that if they should establish a College on this side the mountains, they would fix it at Canonsburg. As it may be read with interest by many, we will here insert it : "That your petitioners, confiding in your patriotism and good wishes, for the interest and advantage of this extensive Western country, whose population is daily increasing with an astonishing rapidity — having also much at heart the education of our youth, and understanding that a law was in some forwardness, last year, for the establishing of a College on this side the mountains — humbly beg leave to request, that if such a pleasing event may take place, due regard may be had to the most convenient place and other local advan- tages, hence deriving our hopes that this village will attract your favorable notice. That your petitioners are firmly per- suaded this town merits a decided preference, on many con- siderations. The situation is remarkably healthy. The inhabitants of the town and its vicinity are generally sober, orderly and religious. Being in the heart of a very fertile country, and at a considerable distance from any public mar- ket, produce must necessarily continue low. There was, some time since, a handsome stone building erected, and nearly finished, wherein a respectable number of youth have been instructed in classical literature and the mathematics, and in which one hundred students may be commocliously taught. Boarding and lodging may be obtained in decent families, at from £12 to £15 per annum. That any fund appropriated by the Legislature, for the erection of suitable buildings, for a College, would thus, in some measure, be anticipated, 36 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. should the honorable House think fit to give this place their sanction, and might be converted to its interest some other way. From these considerations, and others that might be mentioned, we humbly hope you will grant this to be the place for a public institution. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c, &c. "Signed by order of the Board, "James Allison, President "Test— "Alexander Cook, Cler7c." They notice, also, that their clerk had received and paid over to Mr. Ritchie, two pounds, sixteen shillings and seven pence, for the use of the Academy, from Mr. Saunders, being the half of the proceeds of two nights exhibition. Of the nature of this gentleman's performances, nothing is recorded. At the next meeting of the trustees, May 3, 1796, after electing Mr. Ritchie, treasurer, they directed him to call upon the students to receive their respective sums, quarterly, or what part of a quarter may be due, when the general pay- ments shall be made; and to keep an accurate list of the names of the students, together with their entry and departure from the school. These lists to be furnished by the "mas- ters." They also fixed the price of tuition at five pounds per annum, and directed the treasurer to pay the "masters" quarterly. There is then introduced this interesting minute, out of chronological order; and why so, is no where explained : "Whereas this day, being the 28th of April, 1796, it is jointly agreed by the Reverend Presbytery of Ohio and the Trustees of the Canonsburg Academy, to employ two masters to teach the Latin and Greek languages, in the said Academy, to commence from the 2d day of May, 1796, viz. : Mr. David Johnston and Mr. James Mountain; each master aforesaid to receive the sum of ninety pounds specie for one year ; and to be paid quarterly, in equal dividends; for which we jointly THE OANONSBURG ACADEMY. 37 and severally become bound, as witness our hands the day and date above written Presbytery Trustees. "John M'Millan, James Allison, "Joseph Patterson, John M'Dowell, "James Hughs, John Canon, "John Brice, Thomas Brecken, "Thomas Marquis, Alexander Cook, "Thomas Moore, John Foster, "Boyd Mercer. Craig Ritchie." At the adjourned August meeting of the Trustees, they appointed a committee to adjust the balance due Col. Canon, on behalf of the Academy, and give him assurance of pay- ment, in three months, upon receiving from him a legal con- veyance of the Academy lot, and appurtenances. In October, of the same year, a number of contributors met, pursuant to their rule, selected by ballot, as Trustees for the ensuing year, the Rev. Messrs. Joseph Patterson, Thomas Marquis, and Boyd Mercer, and Messrs. James Allison, John Canon, Alex- ander Cook, James Foster, John M'Dowell, and Craig Ritchie. These Trustees met November 14, 1796, and elected Judge M'Dowell, President ; Mr. Ritchie, Treasurer ; and Mr. Cook, Clerk. They also took measures for surveying and securing the Academy lot, appointed an usher to assist Mr. Mountain, and increased his salary ten pounds, for the present year. Mr. David Johnston, who had been absent, and out of their employment for some time, wrote to the Trustees to inquire whether they wished again to employ him as teacher. This, they informed him, the state of the school would not permit them to do; assuring him, at the same time, that no man would be more acceptable. Some service of the county, per- haps in one of its public offices, then engaged the time of Mr Johnston ; and the Trustees intimated to him, as another 4 38 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. reason for declining to employ him, that the county would probably still engage his services. (Perhaps he had formerly withdrawn from their service, on account of more lucrative em- ployment; and they would now give him a mild hint of it.) They agreed, however, that his family might still occupy the house belonging to the Academy property ; in which they resided till the first of May. The last meeting of the Trustees, during this year, occurred December 1, 1796. They authorized the President to give Col. Canon a bond for one hundred pounds, as the balance due him, on sundry accounts, incurred by building the Academy, making the Academy resp®nsible for the above sum to the present Trustees, with interest upon the same until paid. Joseph Stoclcton, (afterwards the Rev. J. Stockton,) was con- tinued an assistant tutor, with a salary of £25 per annum. During this pcriqd, the two Presbyteries of Ohio and Red- stone, as appears from their records, continued to watch over this institution with sedulous care. The Presbytery of Ohio, at their usual Spring meeting, recorded that, " it was found upon inquiry, that something considerable had been collected towards defraying the expenses of the building of the Acade- my in Canonsburg; but, as enough had not yet been raised, it was again recommended to the members to continue their endeavors, and make report at their next Pall meeting." And at that meeting they renewed their recommendation, stating that " necessity now required vigorous efforts for the purpose. " The Presbytery of Redstone sent their commis- sioners to attend upon the examination of the students; who, at their following meeting, made a favorable report. The Academy was rising in reputation, and increasing in number of students. The employment, for some time, of James Mountain? Esq., as teacher of Languages, was propitious to the school. He was a thorough classical scholar, a polished gentleman of the old school in his manners, and afterwards became a very respectable lawyer. He also became, in sub- THE CASONSBURG ACADEMY. 39 sequent years, a trustee ; and we well remember, in our col- lege days, of dreading his presence, when about to be examined on Latin or Greek. It was said he had nearly the whole of Homer's Iliad in his memory, and could recite long passages of it, with great fluency. His services as an instructor in the classical department of the Academy ended with April, 1797, as he insisted upon a higher salary than the Trustees felt warranted to give. There was then a successful effort made to secure the services of Messrs. Camahan and Stockton, for £25 each, for six months. Mr. Carnahan ; however, made it a condition that he should be at liberty to withdraw at any time after the space of three months, upon his giving two weeks' notice. This arrangement was made in April, 1797. Mr. Watson, who was then in his senior year, and about to graduate the ensuing Fall, at Princeton College, was proba- bly already in the eye of the Trustees, and especially of Dr. M'Miilan, for the arduous work of conducting the most im- portant department of their Academy. Mr. Patterson had already jotted down in his Diary, (March 14, 1796,) "I hear Mr. M'Miilan intends visiting Princeton, in May, in order to the return of Messrs. Watson and Hughs." The Trustees, in anticipation of Mr. Watson's c-Qming, had resolved, and entered it on their minutes, " that they would employ him as Teacher.' 7 On September 27, 1797, they agreed with him, " To teach the Academy for twelve months, beginning from the first Tuesday of November next ; and the money arising from the students under his care, he accepts, as full compen- sation for his labors; and to be collected in the same manner as usual." He was also to employ an usher, when they might think it necessary. The Trustees were re-elected October 3d, for the ensuing year. During the session of the Legislature, nothing was done for the Academy. The number of students was thirty-five, and five in Mr. Miller's department. It was a period of much religious prosperity also : for the Rev. Joseph Patterson notes 40 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. in his Diary : " I hear that there is not one student now in the Academy, but appears to have religion, or is a subject of sharp awakenings." This was June 29, 1797. The follow- ing persons are mentioned, as regular members of the two literary societies, (the Philo and Franklin,) then formed among the students, for that year. We give their names, with the titles they bore in after life, just as they are given in the catalogues of the Societies. PHILO SOCIETY. Rev. John Watson, Ex-President of Jefferson College, Rev. Jno. Boggs, Pa., Rev. Robert Lee, Rev. Robert Johnston, Pa., Rev. Wm. M'Millan, D. D., Ex-Pres't. of Jeff, and Frank. Colleges, Rev. Wm. Moorehead, Rev. James Satterfield, Rev. Samuel Tate, Rev. J. Smith, Wm. Fowler, Rev. Elisha Macurdt, Rev. John M'Lain, Rev. Joseph Stockton, Rev. Abraham Boyd, David Rennalls, William Carr, It is probable that in both these lists there are some errors, but we suppose they are substantially correct. They were not all students of the college, but some of them were mem- bers of the faculty. They present a noble set of names. There are several still living — the Rev. Messrs. Robert John- ston, James Satterfield, James Carnahan, D. D., Cephas Dodd, J. Galbraith, Jacob Lindley, and Dr. James Power. As this year is memorable, in the history of the Academy, for the organization of the above mentioned literary societies, it may be more proper here than elsewhere to give some further FRANKLIN SOCIETY. Rev. James Carnahan, D. D., Ex-President of Pjinceton College, Rev. Cephas Dodd, Amity, Pa., Rev. J. Galbraith, Clarion Co., Pa. Rev. T. E. Hughs, Darlington, Pa., Rev. Jacob Lindley, Ex-President of Ohio University, Rev. Stephen Lindley, Ohio, Rev. Wm. Wood, Mercer, Pa., Rev. Wm. Wick, Pa., Rev. Johnston, Eaton, Erie Co., Pa. Dr. James Power, Pa., Rev. Alex. Monteith, Pa., James Marshall, Rev. James Hughs. THE CANONSBURG ACADEMY. 41 account of them. They were founded by graduates of Prince- ton. The Philo Literary Society was founded by the Rev. John Watson, the first President of the College, August 23, 1797 ; and the Franklin Literary Society was founded, No- vember 14, 1797, by Dr. James Carnahan, who had been a pupil of Watson's, and afterwards teacher for some time, in the Academy, in connection with the Rev. Thos. E. Hughs, who we know was also a graduate of Princeton. Some of the founders and earliest members of these societies still sur- vive ; and the names of those who have gone to their rest, will be remembered with honor and affection, by numerous friends and relatives. They were generally ministers of the gospel; and surviving friends will be gi-atified to find their names recorded among the founders of these two fraternities. " As the charter, constitution, and laws of Jefferson Col- lege, " says Dr. Brown, in an unpublished life of Dr. M'Mil- lan, " were evidently formed on the model of Princeton, so it may be presumed that the constitution, rules and exercises of the Literary Societies, were formed on the plan of the socie- ties at Princeton. The founders had been members of the Cliosophic or Whig Societies at Nassau Hall, and of course would introduce into the new societies, whatever they deemed most valuable, adapting them to the condition and habits of the students, and state of society, in the new settlement of the country. * * * These societies have been greatly useful. They have been important auxiliaries to the College in disci- pline, in maintaining good order, and in training the minds of the students to habits of attention, accurate discrimination, and argumentation, so as to improve in composition and oratory, to an extent not to be attained in the ordinary exercises of the college. Here, too, young men, accustomed to observe the strictest parliamentary rules, in their discussions, if called to the halls of legislation, or to act a part in popular assem- blies, either ecclesiastical or civil, are at once prepared to take an active part in the discussions. * * * It may be added, as 4* 42 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. deserving special notice, that there was, from the first, an im- portant exercise introduced into these societies, "which had not been introduced at Princeton, nor any of the eastern colleges. We refer to the Literary Contest between the two societies, in composition, oratory, and debate. This takes place once a year. Judges are appointed to decide on the merits of the performances. These exercises, though attended with some disadvantages, have had a most powerful influence in stimulating the students to aspire after excellence in these attainments. The Contest, first introduced at Canonsburg, was afterwards adopted in Washington College, and since, by a number of Seminaries in the West and South. The socie- ties are secret, to some extent ; their constitution, rules and proceedings, are kept secret. But they are not secret, affili- ated societies, bound together by one common bond — subject to one superior power, to give laws to the subordinates ; and thus, by an unseen, powerful influence, control the whole. Such societies are evidently of dangerous tendency — are odious to the great body of Christians, and have had a most unhappy influence in the church, and on the community at large. The literary societies in college are not, as stated, affiliated, but rival institutions. They cannot combine to effect evil purposes. Members of the Faculty are also mem- bers of these societies; and no plot or combination could occur without their knowledge. It is absurd to plead their example in justification of secret affiliated combinations, bound by solemn oaths and pledges, held by many of them as of higher obligation than the oath administered by civil authority. Within a few years past, some new orders of secret societies have been introduced into colleges, and have their connection in most of the literary institutions of the United States. Their tendency is most danger* >us. Linked together by sacred badges and oaths, their influence has been, in many places, disastrous. It is to be deeply regretted that they have had influence to induce members of the church, and some bench- THE CANONSBURG ACADEMY. 43 Diaries to join them. It is to the honor of the Literary Socie- ties of Jefferson College, that they have taken a noble stand against them — adopted resolutions to expel any who are known to adhere to them. Still, it has been found difficult to detect them, and their pernicious influence is still experienced to some extent. Unless these societies are put down, the conse- quence must be ruinous to all colleges in our country, as to morals, discipline, and substantial learning. " Thus wrote the late venerable President of Jefferson College, whose wis- dom and experience of college life gave him a right to speak " ex- Cathedra." He does not speak too strongly, we appre- hend, on this delicate subject. The Trustees of Princeton College have recently determined to root out these secret socie- ties from their institution. We hope they have succeeded. And we hope the Trustees of Jefferson College will follow their example.' Though the above extract is somewhat long, we thought it due to Dr. M. Brown to give him a full hearing on this subject. * The attention of the Presbyteries of Ohio, - ; Wo are well aware that it will require no ordinary prudence, as well as energetic decision, on the part of Faculties and Boards of Colleges, to sup- press these socret associations. Young men are apt to regard such measures as an unreasonable, tyrannical, and oppressive exercise of authority ; and as an infringement of their rights. It is not easy to convince them that such societies are of a dangerous tendency; and that a larger experience will eventually satisfy them that here is a case in which their relinquishment of an apparently harmless practice is duo to the general welfare of colleges, and to the judgment and wishes of older heads. The co-oporation of en- lightened public opinion, and especially of the great body of the Alumni of our colleges, now engaged in the active scenes of life, would, perhaps, be of essential service, in giving practical efficiency to tho efforts of the officers of collegos, in rooting out secret clubs. In what way such co-operation could be secured, we leave for tho consideration of others. With the co-oporation of public opinion, and of those who have formerly been students in our col- leges, the Faculties and Trustees could scarcely fail in effecting the extinc- tion of secret societies. But reason, kindness, and persuasion, not harsh decrees and menaces of expulsion, should be used. As we dosign to givo a more extended historical sketch of the two Literary Societies, together with a list of the questions discussed at their Contests, we shall not here extend our remarks. 44 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. and of Redstone, during the period under review in this chap- ter, was directed with renewed zeal, to the interests of this child of their adoption. In the course of 1797, we find on the minutes of Redstone Presbytery, no less than three notices about it — first at their meeting at Fairfield, April 18, 1797. "The Committee appointed, at our last meeting, to assist the Presbytery of Ohio in an examination of the students, and an inquiry into the state of the Academy at Canonsburg, brought in their report, which was read and adopted/' Then at Dunlap's Creek, June 28, 1797. And also recommended contributions by their next meeting, " finding that the Acad- emy at Canonsburg labors under very great difficulties, from want of some pecuniary aid. " Again, at Rehoboth, October 18, 1797, they repeat the recommendation to raise contribu- tions, and appoint an examining committee. Lastly, at Pigeon Creek, December 26, 1797, the Presbytery of Ohio reiterate the same call for aid to the funds of the Academy. CHAPTER III. THE ACADEMY BECOMING A COLLEGE. Trustees and Officers — Another Petition to Legislature — Judge Edgar — Presbytery of Redstono — Old Mr. Patterson's account of Academy in 1798 — Rules and Regulations — Colonel Canon's death and character — Legisla- tive aid — New Movement to get College Charter — Act of Trustees, about conditions of preaching in Academy — Members added to the Societies — Change of Constitution in 1798 — Names of Trustees — Charter of Jefferson College, in 1802 — Why called after Mr. Jefferson — Good reasons for the namo — New Trustees — New Rules — Mr. Watson, 1st President ; his doath and character — Mr. Dunlap electod President; his character. "Wc are now entering upon a period fraught with facts and incidents of no less interest, in their bearing upon the char- acter and prospects of the rising Academy and future College than those of any previous period. The trustees, at their first meeting this year, in April, elected Judge M'Dowell, Presi- dent, and Craig Ritchie, Esq., Clerk. The Board also appointed Dr. M'Millan, President of the Academy. This seems to have been merely an honorary office, at this time, and not requiring anything further than a general supervision of the institution. It may also be noted, that at the same meeting, they resolved they would, thenceforward, begin and close their sessions with prayer. This pious resolution, with all serious minds, will satisfactorily account for the eminent wisdom and judgment which guided most of their subsequent deliberations. They also fixed Professor Miller's salary, at this time, at £100; and as the income then was not sufficient to make up this sum, the trustees, themselves, pledged various amounts, from £10 to £3, as a loan, to be afterwards refunded. (45) 46 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. Dr. M'Millan stands at the head of the list, for £10. Messrs. Patterson, Hughs, Moore, Marquis, and D. Smith for from <£6 to £4; and Messrs. Allison, Edgar and Ritchie, £3 each. At their October meeting they appointed Messrs. Findley, Edgar and Ritchie, a committee to draught another petition and memorial to the State Legislature, for pecuniary assist- ance to the institution; which was afterwards reported and adopted, and being signed by the President, Judge M'Dowell, was committed to the Hon. William Findley, Judge M'Dow- ell, and John Wright, Esq., to be forwarded by them to the Legislature. This petition, diifering materially from the former one in its object, contains some new items of interest, and some arguments very forcibly put, and will repay a perusal. It is as follows : 11 To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Com- monwealth of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met : — The memorial and petition of the Academy and Library Company, of the town of Canonsburg, in the county of Washington, respectfully showeth — That the said Academy and Library was originated and carried on by the attention and at the expense, chiefly, of a few public spirited citizens, residing in the town and vicinity of Canonsburg, and that, owing to the convenience of accommodation, the low price of boarding, and the care that has been taken to provide suitable teachers, this institution has been very beneficial in promoting the education of youth. In the course of a few years past, twenty-one young men, who are now employed in the profes- sions of divinity, law and medicine, received the rudiments of their education at this school; nine others have also completed their classical education, and are pursuing the studies requi- site to qualify them for one or other of the learned profes- sions. Thirty-two are at present employed in learning the languages, and acquiring the knowledge of the Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. One master, and assistant, are employed in teaching the learned languages, and another THE ACADEMY BECOMING A COLLEGE. 47 teacher, the other branches. Each of the masters has had a regular and extensive education; and they are men of fair character. The tuition money for teaching the languages, though the charge is moderate, is nearly sufficient to defray the expense of that part of instruction. But the profits arising from teaching the mathematics and natural philo- sophy, come far short of the expense, though the teaching of them is indispensable to the institution. We trust we are warranted in saying, that the said Academy has been more successful, notwithstanding the want of public aid, than any or all of the other institutions in the western coun- ties of Pennsylvania. Permit us to add that there is a con- venient house erected for the purpose, at the personal expense of the trustees, with the assistance of private contributions; but the Library is so small as to be wholly insufficient for the purpose. From this view of the situation of the Academy and Library, of which we are trustees, we hope that the Legislature will, in pursuance of the powers vested in them by the Constitution, be convinced of the propriety of granting such assistance to this institution, as they, in their wisdom, shall judge proper. They will, no doubt, think with us, that it will be a public injury to suffer it to perish, after having been productive of so much good, and having its character for usefulness so well established. We are also sufficiently warranted in saying, that no place in Pennsylvania affords cheaper accommodations for students, and that the situation is central to all the western counties, and very little exposed to public resort, or such amusements as have a tendency to cor- rupt the morals of young men, or divert them from their studies. We further assure the Legislature, that if public assistance is not given, the institution cannot be carried on to advantage, nor the library be rendered competent. We beg leave to state that petitions in behalf of this Institution, and a Bill, read the second time, for granting assistance to it, are on the files of a former Assembly. Hoping that the Legisla- ture will enable the Trustees to support an Institution which 48 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. has already been productive of so much good, at the charge of a few public spirited citizens, your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c. "Signed, "JOHN M'DOWELL, President. " Attested by the Secretary. " The Trustees again advanced, on individual loan, various sums, as before, to secure the continued services of Professor Miller. They also elected Judge Edgar President of the Board, for the ensuing year, and adopted a variety of by-laws for their own benefit. Nothing further as to the doings of the Trustees seems to claim attention at this time. Mr. Patterson says, as to this period : " The Academy appears to flourish under the tuition of Messrs. Watson and Hughs. " Again, October 24, 1798 : "This morning I am setting out to attend the examination at Canonsburg. It is expected that Mr. "Watson will continue at the Academy, where the power of God yet appears among the students. " Again, the next day: "Canonsburg Institution here is truly useful. " The Philo Literary Society, report as belonging to the year 1798, the following additional regular members : " The Rev. Reed Brccken, Pa., Rev. James Robinson, Rev. Robert M'Garragk, Rev. Alexander Boyd, Thos. Vincent, Caleb Baldwin, John Findley. " The Franklin Literary Society, for the same period, the following: "The Rev. Messrs. Andrew M'Don- ald, Nicholas Pittinger, Smiley Hughs, Wm. Neil, D. D., Ex-President Dickinson College, Pa., Daniel Milliken, James Ramsey, D. D., Ex-Professor Hebrew, Jefferson College, and Messrs. Wm. Hartley, Thos. M'Giffen, Esq., Washington, Pa. ; Hon. Geo. Torrence, Cincinnati, Ohio ; George Paul, and Wm. Jones. In the following year, the Trustees adopted some excellent regulations, in regard to the course of instruction. They prescribed a curriculum of studies, which they would require, in order to secure their final Latin certificate . They prescribed, THE ACADEMY BECOMING A COLLEGE. 49 as to the Latin course, besides the common introductory books, "the threa first books of ' Selectae e profanis, ' six books of Ovid, the Eclogues and Georgics of Virgil, and the first six Aeneids; all Horace, and the Orations of Cicero. Then, in the Greek, the usual parts of the Greek New Testament. The first four Books of Xenophon's Cyropaedia, and four Books of Homer's Iliad. In Mathematics, " the whole of Arithmetic." "The first six books of Euclid's Elements," " Simpson's Algebra " to the 50th problem, or the equivalent in some other author. " Trigonometry, Surveying, Martin's Natural Philosophy, Astronomy and Geography, comprising the use of the Globes." Also " Rhetoric, Logic, and Moral Philosophy." But they did not prescribe the authors to be studied in these branches. This course, thus prescribed, will give us some idea of the extent of educational training then attempted. Though very inferior, in some respects, and, in- deed, altogether wanting in various branches of science, now considered essential to a thorough college course, it was nev- ertheless suited to those times, and certainly laid a good foun- dation of scholarship, which, in many cases, was afterward matured to a degree of attainment, in no respect inferior to the liberal education attainable anywhere in our country, at that period. We believe there were as large a proportion of respectable scholars prepared and trained in this way, then as now. The Latin certificate ran in this form : " Prseses et Curatores Academiae Canonsburgiensis, omni- bus et singulis, literas lecturis, Salutem in Domino. Notum sit, A. B , artibus liberalibus, in hac Academia, datis operam dedisse, ct harum ejus peritiam examine accurato esse appro- batam, cujus nomiua nostra huic membranse, subscripta sint testimonium. "Datum Academiae Canon. "Nomina Presidis, " Octavo Kalendarum Nov. " et " Anno Domini—" " Ouratorum. 5 50 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. The Trustees resolved also to mention publicly the names of such students as were remarkable for their industry and accuracy; and also those who should be marked for their in- dolence and deficiency, at every public examination. And at every Fall Examination they determined to designate four students, whom they shall think most deserving, as accurate diligent scholars, two of them being of the Mathematical School, the other two of the Languages ; which students, in the order in which they shall be mentioned by the Trustees, as meritorious, shall have the privilege of choosing their places of speaking, on the day of public exhibition, and of wearing honorary badges ; which privileges shall be granted to no other students at that time. These regulations, no doubt, exerted a salutary influence in those early days of the Academy. At a meeting of the Trustees, April 23, 1799, the Board proceeded to the choice of a Trustee, in the place of Col. John Canon, deceased ; and the Rev. John M'Millan was duly elected. It is thus we incidentally learn the fact of the recent death of that early friend and patron of the Academy, whose name should stand high on the roll of its venerable founders. He lived to see that school, to which he was so much attached, and to the interests of which he devoted so much of his care and time and money, fairly on the way in its glorious career. * Immediately following the above minute, it is added : "On motion, adopted as a rule that any person who receives a salary from this Academy, shall not be a trustee." This was entered, no doubt, to show * " Col. Canon, the founderof Canonsburg, was an active, intelligent, and gentlemanly man. He died when but little past the meridian of life; leav- ing a widow and several children. Mrs. Canon was regarded as the lady of the place, and deservedly; for she was eminently pious, friendly, and gen- erous. Her house was the seat of hospitality, the favorite resort oi Christian ministers, and serious students. She and all her children are dead, except Mrs. Patterson, widow of the late Rev. R. Patterson, a lady of quiet v, and attractive social qualities." — Dr. Neitt in Pre*, mag. Feb. !So7, jjc/jtbT. THE ACADEMY BECOMING A COLLEGE. 51 that Dr. M'Millan's election, though nominally Principal of the Academy, yet, as he received no salary, was unexception- able ; aud could not, therefore, be made a precedent for a a similar election of a member of the Faculty, unless he was merely an honorary member. The ensuing year, 1800, was signalized in the history of the Institution, by a Legislative grant of $1,000 ; which, no doubt, though long deferred, was most seasonable ; and for awhile relieved the Academy from pressing embarrassments. Besides discharging several debts, it enabled the Trustees to make repairs and alterations of their house, and to purchase a small supply of Philosophical Apparatus. It is worthy of notice, also, that the trustees, with scarcely an exception, threw up their claims for the several sums they had loaned the Institution. Though they were almost all of them in very moderate circumstances, they were a noble, public-spir- ited set of men, who willingly made great sacrifices for the Academy. Their names should be had in everlasting remem- brance. A movement was now made (in October, 1800) to get the Academy converted into a College. The appropriation which they had received from the Legislature, encouraged them to make the effort. They accordingly appointed Messrs. M'Millan, Allison, Cook, and Ritchie to draft a petition for this purpose. Their memorial is not on record ; but we can well conceive, from their former petitions, what was its general drift. It was not, however, granted the ensuing winter. Not till January 15, 1802, did the General Assembly pass that important act. In the meantime, though little of importance occurred in the history of the Academy, during its short remaining existence, we may note a few things. One item that now appears rather amusing, is that, in October, 1800, the Trustees passed an order, " That no minister bo permitted to preach in the Academy, except those of the Presbyterian or Seceding denominations; and the latter only upon their pay- ing one dollar for each day they are permitted to use it. " At 52 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. this distant period, we should not T5e hasty in forming our judgments of the character of this measure. Such a rule, were it now adopted, would bring down upon the Board the charge of being intolerant bigots. Yet, without any want of Christian liberality, these good men of those days might have found it necessary to protect the Academy from Sectarian attempts at forward and impudent intrusion, to the great an- noyance of the place, and interruption of the regular exercises of the school. We know, from the earlier history of many sects, which are now not generally characterized by extrava- gant irregularities, that the most brazen-faced impudence was sometimes practiced. We have no doubt the rule of the trustees was, for those times, wise and seasonable, and sustained by the good sense and general approbation of the community. Old Mr. Patterson jotted down in his Diary, for this period, " Elisha Macurdy writes, ' our school is in a much better situa- tion than formerly. ' " During the last three years of the Academy, namely, 1799, 1800, 1801, there was a class of young men in attendance, that, in respect to their solid worth, and future distinguished usefulness and influence in various walks of life, were not exceeded by any similar number from any other college in the United States. The Franklin So- ciety enrolled, during these years, the Rev. Messrs. Clement Valandingham, James Gilleland, James R. Wilson, D. D., Cincinnati, Ohio, and Gilbert M'Master, D. D., Cincinnati, Ohio; and Messrs. Ethan Baldwin, Esq., George Bird, Esq., Bedford, Pa.; Nathaniel Giflin, Esq., John White, M. D., Abraham Carmichael, John M'Donald, Esq., Pittsburgh; Jo- seph Patterson, Esq., Washington Parkinson, Daniel Heisler, Esq., John Bell, John St. Clair, Anthony Rollins, David Young, Andrew Shannon, David Allerater, Samuel Jenkins, Eliezer Jenkins, Matthew Williams, and Joseph Dunlap. The Philo Society, during the same time, claimed the follow- ing list: The Rev. Messrs. Thos. Marquis, Cyrus Riggs, John Harshe, James Boyd, James Scott, Moses Allen, John THE ACADEMY BECOMING A COLLEGE. 53 Rea, D. D., and Abraham Scott; and Messrs. John Cameron, James Taylor, Marcus Haglin, Charles Moorland, Isaac Cow- den, John Purviance, James Blaekstone, David Drennan, Crawford White, Robert Gordon, James Wilson, Benjamin Boyd, James Cunningham, James Hoge, James Carr, Peter Ross, Joseph Colwell, James Walker, Rev. Thomas Hunt, John Creaton, Benjamin Woods, A. Thompson, John Van- dyke, James Veset, William M'Millan, Jr., Rev. Messrs. Al- exander Murray, and James Culbertson, D. D., Jared Smith, and Josiah Scott. These names have not always the proper designation attached to them. For instance, Andrew Shan- non, James Cunningham, and James Hoge, we think were ministers of the gospel; the last, the Rev. James Hoge, D. D., of Columbus, Ohio, the Presbyterian Apostle of Ohio, who, though he did not graduate at Canonsburg, but perhaps at Hampden Sidney College, in Virginia, was a student, for some time, at Jefferson College. Several of the above named persons became eminent, in various professional and civil sta- tions. Jefferson College, in her palmiest days in after years, need never be ashamed of her Academical history. We have thought the introduction of these names of students of the old Academy would be interesting to many, especially as but few of them occur in the College catalogue, (which will be found in our Appendix,) as that catalogue begins with the date of the Institution when it became a College. We have now reached a very important era in the history of this Institution. It was about to emerge from its crysalis state. It was about to assume the loftier name, and more commanding position of a College. It had, indeed, passed through an important change in 1798. Amendments to its constitution, affecting considerable changes, were secured by a new charter. The trustees were no longer, under the new charter, elected annually, but for life; and when vacancies occurred by death or otherwise, the corporate trustees elected others to supply the vacancy. In other words, it became a 5* 54 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. close corporation. The number of trustees then amounted to twenty-one. Of these we find that thirteen were clergymen, and eight, laymen, although there was no provision in the constitution designating the proportion, as was afterwards the case in the College charter. * An application, it will be remembered, had been made by the Trustees to the Legisla- ture, in 1796, that if they were about to establish a college west of the mountains, as they, the trustees, understood such a law was in forwardness, the previous year, for that purpose, they, the Legislature, would have due regard to the claims of Canonsburg, as a convenient place, and possessing other local advantages, &c. But it has been seen that this movement failed. They now resumed under better auspices, their efforts with the Legislature, to get a charter for a college. Accord- ingly, an Act was passed, January 15, 1802, establishing a college at Canonsburg, to be called Jefferson College. Who had given it this name, whether the Trustees, in their petition, or whether the Legislature, as some have supposed, is not clearly ascertained. The memorial to the Legislature is not on record. Nor have we access to the Journal and papers on file, of the Legislature at Harrisburg. f But it is immaterial. It may have been deemed a highly politic measure to secure the success of the petition, with that Democratic Assembly, and also to render their college popular throughout the West. No name was more respected by the great body of the people in Western Pennsylvania, than the name of Mr. Jefferson. * The following are the names of those venerable men who were Trustees of the Academy from 1798 to 1802 : The Rev. Mossrs. James Power, James Dunlap, Join M'Pherrin, David Smith, William Swan, John Smith, John Riddle, Joseph Patterson, Thos. Marquis, James Hughs, Boyd Mercer, Thos. Moor, Samuel Ralston, Wm. Findley, Esq., John Wright, Esq., Robert Galbraith, Esq., James Edgar, John M'Dowell, Jp.mes Allison, John Canon, and Craig Ritchie. -j- An unavailing search on this point has been made at Harrisburg, THE ACADEMY BECOMING A COLLEGE. 55 He had been inducted into the office of President of the Uni- ted States, in March, 1801. His administration, for some time, was like a continued ovation. The party who had tri- umphantly borne him f -rward to this high station, were in the utmost state of exultation. To call this first college in the West, this first seat of science in the Valley of the Mis- sissippi, after this idol of the people, would be thought, on all sides, most felicitous. It might have been sincerely thought by the Trustees a compliment to Mr. Jefferson, which he deserved. Possibly William Findley, Esq., who then rep- resented a large portion of Western Pennsylvania in Congress, a Trustee of the Academy, and a warm political partizan of Mr. Jefferson, may have led the Trustees to adopt this name ; and may have suggested that a douceur might be given by Mr. Jefferson for the compliment, or he might help them by testamentary provision. G-en. Washington had, only a year or two before, left by his will a noble bequest, in James River stocks, to Washington Academy, in Virginia, that very insti- tution that had sprung from the action of the Synod of Vir- ginia, when the Synod took measures to found two seminaries, one in Rockbridge county, Virginia, and the other in Wash- ington county, Pennsylvania. What so proper, in every way, as that the Institution which had, in a great measure, owed its earlier life to the action of the Synod, should become Jef- ferson College, now that the other school of the Synod had taken the name of Washington ? When we take into view all the circumstances we have now mentioned, we are not sur- prised that this old Presbyterian Institution should take the name of the man who, to the day of his death, disliked Vir- ginia Presbyterians, and apprehended their opposition to his Virginia University, (the child and the glory of his old age,) more than all other sources of annoyance, to his plans of building up a great seat of science, where Christianity should be ignored. This apprehension from Presbyterian opposition to his schemes he acknowledged to his infidel friend, Dr. 56 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. Cooper, of South Carolina. * Dr. Brown, in his unpublished "Life of Dr. M'Millan, " thus remarks about the name of our college : "It has been a matter of surprise and regret, that an institution, founded in piety and prayer, and profess- edly designed to be devoted to religion, should bear the name * But even if Mr. Jefferson's religious views were objectionable, his ser- vices to his country, unsurpassed by any other, except Washington, his authorship of the " Declaration of Independence, " and of the Virginia " Bill of Rights, " his efforts in the cause of unrestricted toleration, his per- severing efforts to overthrow every vestige of religious establishments, his sympathy for suffering humanity, his contempt for, and internecine war against all privileged orders and aristocratical distinctions of society, and especially his opposition to the unrighteous excise laws of the General Gov- ernment, which had produced so much misery and disaster in Western Penn- sylvania, seemed reall}' to entitle him to the compliment of having the first college in the Valley of the Mississippi called by his name. Again, if ho was the author and originator of the Ordinance of 1787, establishing the North-Western Territory, as has been affirmed, even for this one service to his country, and especially to the West, he deserved to have his name stamped indelibly on the first seat of science west of the mountains. The following statement will be found in the New York Observer, June 28, 1855, headed DID JEFFERSON DIE AN INFIDEL? "Your last issue calls attention to the fact that the Congress of '54, dis- tributed three hundred copies of the works of Thomas Jefferson, among sev- eral colleges and other literary institutions ; and that these works contain infidel sentiments. It is much to be regretted that the author of the Decla- ration of Independence should have ever entertained or published 'infidel sentiments. ' We cannot deny the fact. He so identified himself with infi- delity, while he held exalted positions — and his expressed opinions to the world were such, as to leave no doubt of the fact, that tho Patriot, Scholar, and Statesman, was at one time an avowed infidel. But there is one little circumstance in the history of Jefferson, which I do not think is generally known. It is this: — In his old age, when he had retired to the quiet scenes of Monticello, he visited one Sabbath, a country church ; it happened to be communion day, and when the invitation was given to the communicants to come forward and partake of the sacred elements, this man, who had given the influence of his high name towards extinguishing the lia;ht of Christi- anity, and obliterating the hope of the world; — this man came humbly for- ward, and meekly kneeling at the altar, received those precious remem- THE ACADEMY BECOMING A COLLEGE. 57 of one, who, though distinguished and honored justly, as a philosopher and statesman, an advocate of the principles of liberty, yet must be acknowledged to have been an infidel, a deist, if not an atheist, and a bitter opposer of the Christian religion. It must, however, be recollected that the principles of Mr. Jefferson, at that time, were not fully developed, as afterwards. Occasional rumors, respecting his opposition to religion, were disbelieved and denied. It cannot otherwise be supposed that these Trustees and conductors of the Insti- tution would have consented to such a name. " But it is a matter of small account. " De minimis non curat lex. " " A rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet. " One brances of the death of Christ, which afford so much comfort to believers. It is something wrested from the powers of darkness to know that a man of Jeffer- son's mind and firmness of character, should respond to an invitation like the following : " 'Ye that do truly and earnestly repent of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of Grod, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways ; draw near with faith, and take this holy sacrament to your comfort ; and make your humble confession to Almighty God, meekly kneeling upon your knees. ' "I have this fact from a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, now over three-score years of age, who was born, raised, and spent the greater portion of his life in Virginia. If my recollection of our interview is cor- rect, he received the account from the servant of Christ who administered the sacrament. " Some of Jefferson's old manuscripts were published, I believe, after his decease, by an infidel relative. Is there not some reason to believe that he would havo retracted them publicly, had he lived a little longer ? "J. W. K. " Hachensuck, N. J., June 16, 1855. " We have no confidence in this whole story ; and are vory sure it would not only be discredited in Charlottesville, but would be regarded as reflecting no honor upon the character of Mr. Jefferson, who, however much he admired Voltaire, and had his bust in full view of his dying eyes, would not have imitated him in receiving the sacrament. But we give the account for what it is worth, unwilling to withhold anything that may be alleged in Mr. Jef- ferson's behalf. 58 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. of the names of Hampden Sidney College, a thorough Pres- byterian school, is the name of an infidel, if we may rely on the testimony of Bishop Burnet. One of our Western col- leges is called after Franklin, and he was hardly a Christian, though we would not call him an infidel. The Board of Trustees that were recognized in the charter of the College consisted of the following persons : The Rev- Messrs. John M'Millan, Joseph Patterson, Thos. Marquis, Samuel Ralston, John Black, James Power, James Dunlap, John M'Phcrrin ; and Messrs. James Edgar, John M'Daniel, James Allison, William Findley, Craig Ritchie, John Ham- ilton, Joseph Vance, Robert Mahon, James Kerr, Aaron Leyle, Alexander Cook, John Mercer, and William Hughes. In the original charter eleven constituted a quorum ; after- wards the number was reduced to seven. A large majority of them met on the 27th of April, 1802, and continued in session, with the usual adjournments, for three days. Before they entered upon business, they took the oath prescribed by the Act ; which is in the following form: "You and each of you do solemnly swear, that you will support the Consti- tution of the United States of America, and of this State, and that you will, with fidelity, perform the duties of a trus- tee of Jefferson College. " * Judge Edgar, being one of the judges of the court for Washington county, administered the oath to the trustees, who were present, and then Judge Vance administered the oath to him. Dr. M'Millan was chosen President of the Board, and Craig Ritchie, Esq., Clerk. Messrs. Dunlap, M'Pherrin, and Ralston, were appointed a committee to arrange the number of classes which should be in the College, and the studies proper for each class ; and to report the following day. Accordingly, their report was received, and, after debate, and some alterations, was adopted. * No Old Side Covenanter or Reformed Presbyterian could t:ilf the Rev. Robert John- ston, who hud been a pupil during the times of the old Acad- emy ; and who continued a trustee for seventeen years.* In *Fc\v men in tlio Synod of Pittsburgh, for tho last half century, took a more prominent part in its counsels, or exerted a more beneficial influence, than the subject of this notice. And Jefferson College had few more valua- ble ami substantial friends. "Robert Johnston \v;is born in Perry county, (then a part of Cumberland county.) on tho banks of the Juniata, in August, 1774, where ho spent tho first years of his life. Little is known of his youth, and his first religious exorcises of mind. It seems probablo that about tho beginning of this century, ho was a student of Canonsburg Academy, with a view of preparing himself for tho gospol ministry. For, from tho records of tho Presbytery of Ohio, it appears that he was licensed to preach the gos- pel, on tho 23d of April, 1802. It is believed his theological studies wero under tho direction of Dr. M'MUlan. He obtained from tho Presbytery, at its next meeting, June 30th, 1S02, liberty to itinerate in the bounds of tho Presbytery of Erio until the first of August, and was also appointed to supply NEW PRESIDENTS AND "COLLEGE WAR." 101 the fall of 1818, the following students received the degree of A. B. : Wm. Blair, Robert Baird, (afterwards the Rev. Dr. Baird, of New York, the distinguished European Traveler and Lecturer, and at the head of the Evangelical Protestant statedly at Buckskin and Mount Pleasant, Ohio, for two months. The Pres bytery of Erie, October 5th, 1803, reported to the Synod that they had received Mr. Johnston, a licentiate from the Presbytery of Ohio, ' who accepted a call from the united congregations of Scrubgrass and Bear Creek ;' and at the next meeting of Synod, they reported ' that they had ordained and installed him.' After laboring with eminent usefulness and success in this field, where the spirit of God was poured out in a remarkable degree, during a considerable part of the seven years of his ministry, he was then, at his own requost, dismissed, January 2d, 1811. He then entered a new and important field, in Crawford county; and on the loth of October ensuing, ho was installed pastor of the united congregations of Meadville, Sugar Creek, and Conneaut Lake. Here, for six years, and during a portion of the prime of his life, he was engaged in that laborious and scattered charge. Thence, at his request, he was dismissed, April 2d, 1S17. During the follow- ing year, he removed into Westmoreland county, and became a member of the Presbytery of Redstone, having accepted a call to tbo united congrega- tions of Rehoboth and Roundhill. Ho was installed pastor of theso churches, June 18th, 1818. Here, for thirteen or fourteen years, he was laboriously engaged in his Master's work, and many were given to him as seals of his ministry. From the congregation of Roundhill, he was, at his own request, lismissed, December 14, 1831 ; and, in the following year, from Rehoboth. Borne time in 1833, we believe, he removed into the bounds of the Presbytery of Blairsville, and took charge of the congregation of Bethel or Blaeklick, an old and most respectable congregation, whose history dates far back in the last century. Here Mr. Johnston continued in his ministerial work for a number of years. Upon retiring from this field, and now becoming infirm through years of laborious and self-sacrificing toil, ho removed to the town of Indi- ana, where he resided, without a pastoral charge, with his son, James John- ston, Esq. Upon the removal of his son, a distinguished lawyer, to New Castle, the county seat of the new county of Lawrence, he and his aged wife accompanied him, to this their last encampment on their way to the Heavenly Canaan. Mrs. Johnston did not long survive this removal, but died in the faith about two years afterwards, leaving her bereaved husband to follow her, after a further trial of his faith and patience. He is now waiting at a very advanced age for his dismission. Mr. Johnston was an able instructor and faithful preacher of the word. He was a bold and fearless man in the discharge of his duty ; devoid of all fear of man, either in or out of the 9* 102 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. Alliance,) Samuel Evans, Salmon Cowles, (now a venerable Presbyterian minister in Iowa,) Thos. Hannah, (the Rev. Thos. Hannah, D. D., a minister of the Associate Church in Washington, Pa.,) Joshua Moore, (a Presbyterian minister in Lewistown, Pa., lately deceased,) Wm. M' Cltire, Alexander Williamson, Wm. Jeffery, D. D., and Jas. P. Miller. Prin- cipal M'Millan's salary was $600 per annum. Mr. Abraham Anderson (late Dr. Anderson) was chosen Professor of Lan- guages. In the spring of 1819, Principal M'Millan was com- missioned to spend two months to solicit contributions for the College — especially to defray expenses for building the new College. In September, the graduate class consisted of David pulpit, an excellent pastor, a wise and judicious Presbyter, a valuable Trustee of Jefferson College, and a faithful champion for Old School theology, and strict church discipline. He had a cast of manners and a mode of social intercourse that led many to consider him as overbearing and tyrannical; but it was altogether his manner, arising, perhaps, from a constitutional temper- ament For a more kind-hearted man, and a warmer friend, could not easily bo found. The poriod of his ministerial and pastoral labors in Scrubgrass, Meadville, Itoundhill, and Bethel, should be long remembered as one of much spiritual prosperity in those churches. Mr. Johnston did much among his people in promoting the cause of religious benevolence. Nor was his useful- ness in this respect confined to any one field. Ho was the ardent and efficient friend of domestic and foroign missions, of our then infant Theological Sem- inary, and of the cause of education. As a momber of Prosbytery, and of the Synod of Pittsburgh, from tho latter of which he was -not absont a single meeting for more than forty years, his services in these respects wero inval- uable. More than once, important agencies were entrusted to him. "During tho great struggle of the church from 1832 to 1838, against the alarming revolutionary movements of the New School party, Mr. Johnston stood a firm, unyielding, and efficient friend and advocate of the doctrines and the ecclesiastical policy of the church of our fathers. May he yet be spared just so long as his Divine Master has anything yet for him to do or suffer for his cause, and may his nunc demittis find him filled with faith and hope and love !" The foregoing notice is takon from the Appendix to a sermon, entitled "The fear of God, woman's true praise;" preached at Roundhill in 1855, and published by request. A more extended momoir of Mr. Johnston is in preparation, with a view to insertion in a second volume of " Old Redstone." NEW PRESIDENTS AND "COLLEGE WAR." 103 Carson, Adam Coon, Alexander M'Candless, John M' Henry, Wm. Smith, and Joseph Trimble. We find here the name of A. M'Candless, long known and highly esteemed pastor of Long Run Congregation. He afterwards removed to New Jersey, where he died some years ago. Also the Rev. Wm. Smith, D. D., who has been for more than thirty-five years a Professor of Languages in Jefferson College, and pastor of Miller's Run Congregation. If long and faithful services, both as professor and pastor, entitle any man to distinction, Dr. Smith has won for himself lasting honor, and his name will stand high among the friends and benefactors of Jefferson College. The Rev. Joseph M'Elroy, D. D., (then of Pitts- burgh,) was chosen a trustee. A renewed movement for Legis- lative aid, was also made at this time. The Rev. Messrs. Ralston, Ramsey, and Johnston, were appointed a Committee to select and recommend a system of Metaphysics, for the use of the College. What was the result is no where recorded. We believe that the old scholastic systems of Metaphysics were never much in vogue. A manuscript Epitome was in use in Dr. Dunlap's time — perhaps brought by him from Princeton. Dr. Wylie introduced Reid and Stuart on Mental Philosophy, in lieu of the old metaphysics. The metaphysics of the olden time is now entirely neglected, and its entities and quiddities nearly forgotten. Requiescat in pace. In April, 1820, the Board conferred the degree of A. B. on Wm. Neshitt, John Peoples, Wm. iS. Roberts, Chas. E. Gulotts, and John Kennedy. And at their fall meeting, in September, on Abraham Campbell, Alexander Sharp, Thos. Williamson, M' Knight Williamson, and Robt. Crooks. The Rev. Elisha P. Swift, D. D., was elected trustee in place of the Rev. Elisha Macurdy, resigned. The committee appointed to settle with Dr. M'Millaa and C. Ritchie, executors of the last will and testament of Mrs. Margaret Clark, deceased, reported that they had examined the papers. and vouchers in the hands of the executors and 104 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. found them correct, and that there now remained in the hands of Dr. M'Millan, and at his disposal, $4,685.10. Of this sum there belonged to the poor fund, $2,573.50, and to the Trustees, $2,111.60. This report was received and approved. In April, 1821, Mr. A. Anderson's salary was increased $50. The Legislature had passed an Act, making an appropriation of $1,000 to aid the funds of the College, and at this meeting, C. Ritchie, Esq., was authorized to draw on the State Trea- surer for that amount. Messrs. Geo. Buchanan, Wm. John- ston, John Pinkerton, and Levin Rogers, received the degree of A. B. In September, Joseph B. Adams, Lewis W. Andreics, Rich- ard Campbell, Meredith Helms, John Hunter, Wm. M' Connelly David M' Henry, iSamuel Reed, and Aaron Torrence, were admitted to the degree of A. B. * Mr. Anderson having resigned his office as Professor of * We find on the printed Records of the Synod of Pittsburgh, October 6th, 1820, this minute : ''Tho following resolutions, relating to the establishment of a Theological Seminary in the bounds of this Synod, were brought before Synod, viz: "1st. Resolved, That it is expedient for this Synod, to take measures to establish a Theological Seminary within their bounds. '• 2d. Resolved, That tho said Seminary shall be located in tho borough of Washington, Pennsylvania, upon tho following conditions : 1st. That the Boards of Trustees of tho Colleges of Washington and Jefferson, shall enter into an agreement to unite tho said Colleges, with a stipulation, that the united Literary institution tdiall be established at Canousburg. 2d. That tho united College shall agree to appropriate the College premises and buildings thereon erected in Washington, and also the funds, or a proportion thereof, for tho use of a Theological Seminary, a Professorship or Professorships, to bo therein established, with the concurrence of this Synod. 3d. That an act of the Legislature of Pennsylvania be obtained, should tho same bo found necessary, to sanction tho measures aforesaid. 4th. That theso resolutions be submitted to the Boards of Washington and Jefforson Colleges, and, pro- vided the respei tivo Boards concur therein, that commissioners bo appointed to talce measures to prepare the contemplated plan for tho consideration of tho next Synod. " Resolved, That tho motion to adopt these resolutions bo postponed, in ordor to introduco a substitute, viz : That the first two resolutions, with tho NEW PRESIDENTS AND "COLLEGE WAR." 105 Languages, Mr. Wni. Smith (now the Rev. Dr. Smitli) was 3lected in his place. Upon his signifying his acceptance, the usual oath of office was administered to him. In April, 1822, vhe Board recorded that Thos. Byers, one of the executors "»f the last will and testament of John M'Pherrin, deceased, *iad paid to the Treasurer, $2,033.25, the original sum >equcathed to the Trustees of Jefferson College, the interest of which is to be applied to the education of poor and pious youth for the gospel ministry; together with $125, of interest arisen therefrom. This money, Messrs. Bitchie and Monroe were appointed to lend out on sufficient security. 3Iiss Mary Armitage presented a gold tcatch, valued at $50, to aid the funds of the College, and $10 of which were returned to her, with the thanks of the Board for her valuable gift. Vacancies in the Board were filled : but as we have now reached a period when this item of history can possess little interest, we will not further notice it. Mr. Bitchie reported the receipt of the State donation. Messrs. J. Clayhaiujh, Adam Gilliland, John Pitkin and Benj. Spillmari, were admitted to the degree of A. B. The Board also agreed to confer the same degree on John Closhey, conditions annexed to the second, l>o referred to the Boards of the Trustees of the Colleges of Washington and Jefferson for their consideration. " On motion, JRcsolced, That the Rev. Messrs. Thos. Marquis, Thos. Hoge, James Harvey, and Wm. Johnston, with James Hare, elder, be a Committee to confer with the Boards of Jefferson and Washington Colleges on these resolutions, and report at the next meeting of Synod; and that the stated clerk furnish a copy thoreof to each Board of Trustees, and that it be recom- mended to this Committee to endeavor to effect a meeting with said Boards on the subject, in April next, or sooner, if found practicable." There is no evidence that this paper ever came before the Board of Trustees of Jefferson College. They have taken no notice of it on their records. It would, apparently, have been an admirable scheme, could it have been carried out. Why it was altogether dropped or neglected, wo are at a loss to explain. The Committee made no report at the next meeting, "but by information received from a member of the committee, it does not appear probable that such a union can now be effected." The committee were discharged, and that was an end of the whole matter. 106 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. James Johnston, John M'Cluskey, Ebenezer Monroe, and John Smart. It was also determined at this meeting, in regard to the two societies, the Philo and Franklin, that should they, at any time, violate their own laws and regulations, to the aggriev- ance of any member or members, they shall have a right to appeal to the Faculty, and the Faculty shall be governed in their investigation of such appeals by the laws and regulations of the societies — an appeal still allowed to the Board. In August of that year, the Board was called together to hear and investigate charges brought by the Faculty against several students, for being the authors and promoters of mutiny, sedition, and rebellion in college ; and as having cir- culated calumny and slander against the character and repu- tation of the Principal, Mr. Wm. M'Millan. Upon a full investigation, the charges were not sustained. But the stu- dents were severely censured for their rash and precipitate conduct, especially in their treatment of the Principal. One student had published in the Washington Reporter, a publi- cation which, in appearance, burlesqued praying societies and associations for sustaining pious youth ; and upon his disclaim- ing any evil intention, and making proper satisfaction, and promising to state the matter in a true light, in the same paper, the Board accepted his explanation and promise, and let him escape any further action of the Board. Whereupon, the Rev. Principal M'Millan publicly declared his resignation, which was accepted : and the Rev. Wm. Smith was appointed to take charge of the College, in the room of Mr. M'Millan, until the next meeting of the Board ; and was further author- ized, in conjunction with Messrs. Ramsey and Ritchie, to employ a teacher of languages until that time. At the Sep- tember meeting, Messrs. Morrow, Livingston, Martin, Frazier, Shcllady, and Brown, were admitted to the degree of A. B. At this meeting, the Rev. Matthew Brown, D. D., was duly elected Principal of the College, with a salary of $800. This NEW PRESIDENTS AND "COLLEGE WAR." 107 was one of the most important events that ever occurred in the history of Jefferson College. But we must begin a new chapter in further proof and explanation of this remark. Dr. Smith received $50 for his extra labors, and his salary was thenceforward raised to $300 per annum. What he then received from Miller's Run congregation for his faithful min- isterial and pastoral services, we have not learned. In the mean time, before we close this chapter, we deem this the proper place to state how it came about that Jefferson College obtained the distinguished services of Dr. Brown — a man who 7 but a few years before, was President of Washington College. This singular circumstance is so well explained by a writer in the Presbyterian Advocate, January 4, 1854, believed to be James Veech, Esq., of the Uniontown bar, that we shall not hesitate to adopt his statement, which is as follows : "The College War of 1816-1818 had ended. Dr. Brown's first wife had died. The conflict had made him enemies who seemed to have triumphed. His usefulness, as pastor of the Presbyterian church, had seemed to have been impeded. Strife and affliction had sunk his spirits and marred his hap- piness. He began seriously, though with much reluctance, to think of a new field of labor. In this state of mind, the late eminent and estimable Dr. Griffin, who had been invited to the Presidency of Danville College, on his return from the West, spent a night with Dr. Brown, at Washington, and communicated to him the conclusion he had come to, not to accept ; and thereupon suggested the station to his friend, Dr. Brown. The suggestion was favorably received and enter- tained. Dr. Griffin thereupon wrote to the Centre College Trustees, recommending Dr. Brown to them in strong terms. In this he was zealously and efficiently seconded by the late Rev. Andrew Todd, who was a student of Washington Col- lege at the time of the disruption, and a devoted adherent of the Ex-President. In due time, the Danville Board offered to Dr. Brown the Presidency of Centre College. He there- 108 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. upon went to the West, to Kentucky, to Danville ; and looked into the prospects and position of the new College — favorably. This was in 1821 or 1822. He did not, however, then give a definitive answer to the offer, further than to say to the Board that he would duly consider the matter, and if the way was clear, and God and duty pointed him to it, he would go, if his Presbytery would dismiss him from his church at Washington, for that purpose. Soon after his return home, he informed the Danville Board that he accepted the offered Presidency, subject to the condition last above named. In this state of things, and preparatory to his removal, Dr. Brown procured a special meeting of his Pres- bytery, to be called to meet in the latter part of the summer of 1822, to dismiss him from his charge. And in confident anticipation of the desired dismissal being voted for, he, during that summer, visited the eastern part of Pennsylvania, to see old friends, and settle some secular business. On his return, he stayed all night in the ' forks' neighborhood, and then, for the first, heard of what was called ' the Rebellion/ in Jefferson College, and the resignation of the President, Rev. Wm. M'Millan. On his further progress homeward, he stopped to dine with his ancient and trusty friend, the late Rev. Dr. Samuel Ralston, * then, and for many years before and after, President of the Board of Trustees of Jefferson College. The exciting proceedings which had lately trans- pired at Canonsburg, were of course spoken of during the brief visit. But nothing was said about the Presidency, directly or indirectly, until just as Dr. Brown was about to mount his horse for home. Dr. Ralston, who knew of the pro re nata meeting, and its object, significantly inquired, ' Are you pledged to go to Danville V Dr. B. replied that • Whoever has read Dr. Ralston's "Philologus," on the Collego War, will be at no loss to discover the Irish strength and fervency of his friendship to Dr. Brown. NEW PRESIDENTS AND "COLLEGE WAR.'' 109 he was, if his Presbytery would dismiss him from his church. 'Very well, sir/ said Dr. R., 'good bye; I will see you at Presbytery, God willing.' The meeting of Presbytery came. Dr. Ralston was there. The request for dismissal was regu- larly presented. But when the motion to bring about deci- sion came to be made, instead of being ' that the request be granted,' the latter word was, to the surprise of Dr. Brown, preceded by a ' not.' The Rev. Thos. Hoge, then of Wash- ington, Pa., was, I think, named as the mover. The request was, however, persisted in, and urged by such reasons as were pertinent and proper. But the Presbytery was inexorable. The request was flatly though kindly denied ; and thus the door was shut against Dr. Brown becoming President of Cen- tre College, Danville, Kentucky, which, but for this unusual action of his Presbytery, he would doubtless have soon become. The Presbytery having adjourned, the secret, or unavowed reasons, were explained to Dr. B. by his friends ; which were in substance that he could not be released until after the Board of Trustees of Jefferson College should have met to elect a President ; which would be in a few weeks thereafter — the last Wednesday of September, 1822, and if he were not chosen, then he might be let go. The Jefferson Board met at the appointed time. On the night of that day Dr. Brown was elected President of that College — a committee was dis- patched for him in the night, who, before breakfast the next morning, (Commencement day,) returned with the President elect ; who, before nine o'clock, took the oath of office, and on that day, within eighteen hours of his election, conferred degrees, and made a brief impromptu Baccalaureate address, as President of the Faculty of Jefferson College. ' In all this,' said the Doctor, in his relation of it, ' events crowded upon me so fast and so heavy, that I had no time to reflect and deliberate. Had time been given me I might have declined. But I thought I saw in it the finger of Providence, and I became passive in his arms.' The event was one of 10 110 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. great joy and gladness to the eighty students then at Jeffer- son College, and to the friends of that time-honored Institu- tion. It was hailed as an omen of prosperity, and a triumph of retributive justice. It was an event from which untold benefits and blessings have resulted, not only to that College and its hundreds of students, but to thousands of the human race, to whom, through them, Dr. Brown became, under God, by his pre-eminent capacities for government and instruction, and by his piety and prayers, a benefactor of the highest order to which humanity can attain." CHAPTER VI. DR. M. BROWN'S PRESIDENCY. A new era in tho state and prospects of Jefferson College — Dr. Brown's extraordinary character and qualifications — Connection of Jefferson Col- lege with Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia — Jacob Green, Esq. — Literary Societies in difficulties — -Theological Seminary of the Associate Presbyterian Church established at Canonsburg — New College building in 1829-32. Crisis in the life Dr. M'Millan; Death of his old friends, Prof. Miller and C. Ritchie, Esq./ their lives and character — Agricultural labor provided for students by a College farm ; its ultimate failure ; reflec- tions about it — Recent movement by Synod of Pittsburgh for Ecclesiasti- cal supervision — Its failure; reasons — Aids to be sought in investigating that whole subject — General winding up of the whole subject. We are now entering on a new era in the history of this Institution. Under the administration of Dr. M. Brown, which extended over the long period of twenty-two years, the College rapidly advanced in its glorious career. Never was there, perhaps, a more popular, or a more successful Presi- dent. He was peculiarly gifted with qualities of head and heart that secured to him the affection and respect of the stu- dents, both while under his watchful care, and through after life, however long they might be separated from him, and in whatever walks of life they might be found. The pious stu- dents were generally ardently attached to him ; and the wildest and most reckless respected and venerated him ; and, in many instances, would speak of him, years after their residence in distant parts of the country, with a degree of affection that was often surprising. Yet he was constitutionally of a hasty, passionate spirit, and would often rebuke the students in the most unmerciful manner. Yet, somehow, he always had the (111) 112 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. art of making up his quarrels with them, without losing their respect, or his authority. He was certainly the most remark- able man of our day, for the possession of qualities apparently the most incompatible, but strangely and happily balancing each other. Into many a scrape, his impetuous feelings would hurry him ; and yet he hardly ever failed to recover himself with grace and manliness. He had an admirable talent for governing a college. The success of his long presidential career was a complete proof of this. But his i eculiar talent for canvassing and electioneering, among the people of all classes, in favor of the College, was not less remarkable. In this respect, he did more for Jefferson College than all others put together. He was, in fact, an eccentric man ; and yet never was eccentricity more completely governed by good sense and sound judgment. His very oddities and personal mental peculiarities contributed to his usefulness, and to the success of the Institution over which he so long and so efficiently pre- sided. It was an auspicious day, when, on the 24th of Sep- tember, 1822, Dr. Brown was elected Principal of Jefferson College. In April, 1828, the Board granted the degree of A. B. to James Arbuthnot, Wells Bushnell, John Cunningham, Boyd Emory, Sen., Boyd Emory, Jr., James C. Hall, Bobt. Henry, Samuel Jenuings, John Lee, George Lyon, Bobt. Moody, Alex. Macklin, James Nourse, Wm. Pollock, Moses Boney, Josiah Scott, Andrew Wilson, and Benjamin Yoe. Many of these will be recognized as living ministers of the gospel, in various ecclesiastical connections, or as respectable members of other professions. We have now reached a period when we think it expedient to close the further mention of the graduates, as they are mostly still among the living, and our cotemporaries. We shall, however, give their names in an appendix. In the fall, the Board took Mr, M'Millan's house off his hands, at $1,000, and took back the old lot, exone- rating him from $550, which he was to have paid for it. At DR. M. BROWN'S PRESIDENCY. 113 this time the degree of D. D. was conferred on the Rev. Messrs. F. JSerron and Robt. Bruce, of Pittsburgh. In 1824, the Board was called together in June, to delibe- rate upon an extraordinary communication just received from Philadelphia, which led speedily to a new feature in the his- tory of the College, and, for a while, to a new element in her prosperity. We refer to the establishment of the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, under the wing and charter of our College. The following letter was laid before the Board : " Gentlemen : — The undersigned, believing, upon mature consideration, that the establishment of a second medical school in the city of Philadelphia will be advantageous to the public, not less than to themselves, have formed themselves into a Medical Faculty, with the intention of establishing such a school, and they hereby offer to the Trustees of Jefferson College to become connected with that Institution, on the conditions herewith submitted ; subject to such modifications, as on a full and free explanation, shall be found satisfactory to the parties severally concerned. The undersigned beg leave to submit herewith, the plan which they have devised, for forming the Faculty contemplated, and for conducting the concerns of the same — open to amendments and alterations in the manner already proposed. " Signed by order of the Faculty, "Joseph Klapp, M. D., " George M'Clelland, M. D., "John Eberle, M. P., "Jacob Green, Esq. "Philadelphia, June 2, 1824." After some discussion and due deliberation, the Board adopted the following resolutions, viz : " 1st. That it is expe- dient to establish in the city of Philadelphia a Medical Fac- 10* 114 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. . ulty, as a constituent part of Jefferson College, to be styled the < Jefferson Medical College.' 2d. That the Faculty of the Medical College shall consist of the following professor- ships : 1st — a professorship of Anatomy ; 2d — of Surgery ; 3d — of the Theory and Practice of Medicine; 4th — of Materia Medica, Botany and the Institutes ; 5th — of Chemistry, Min- eralogy, and Pharmacy; 6th — of Midwifery, and the diseases of women and children. 3d. That whenever a vacancy shall occur by death, resignation, or otherwise, it shall be filled by a gentleman who shall be nominated by the remaining Pro- fessors, or a majority of them, and appointed by the Trustees of the College. 4th. That a Professor may be removed by the Board of Trustees, with the consent of a majority of the other medical Professors, after a fair and full investigation of the alleged causes for the removal ; but in no other way. 5th. That the Medical School shall have no claims whatever on the funds of Jefferson College. 6th. That the medical Professors shall make arrangements among themselves for the time and place of lecturing, for examinations, and for the gen- eral benefit of the school : the time for conferring medical degrees shall be determined by the Trustees, on the represen- tation of the medical Faculty. The same fee shall be paid to the President of the College by the graduates for a degree, as for a degree in the arts. 7th. That this College shall use a suitable influence to send medical pupils to the medical school connected with it in Philadelphia ; and the medical Faculty shall promote in every way the interest and prosperity of the College. 8th. That the young men who have attended one course of lectures, in any respectable medical Institution, shall be admitted to a standing, in all respects, equal to the one they had left. 9th. That ten indigent young men of talents, who shall bring to the medical Faculty satisfactory testimonials aud certificates, shall be annually received into the medical school, receive its medical instructions, and be entitled to its honors, without any charge. 10th. That the BR. M. BROWN'S TRESIBENCY. 115 following persons, duly elected, be and they are hereby appointed to the following professorships, viz : Doctor George M' Clelland, Professor of Surgery; Doctor Joseph Klapp) Professor of Theory and Practice of Medicine ; Doctor John Eberle, Professor of Materia Mediea; Jacob Green, Esq., Professor of Chemistry, Mineralogy and Pharmacy. 11th. That the President of the Board be, and he hereby is appointed to forward these resolutions to the Professors elect, and to hold any necessary correspondence with them on the subject until the next meeting of the Board.' 7 Toward the close of the following year, the Trustees applied to the Legislature, and obtained an enlargement of their char- ter, authorizing them to appoint ten trustees in the city of Philadelphia — not more than four of whom to be ministers of the gospel — and authorizing any Judge of the Supreme or District Courts to administer the oath of office to the Profes- sors and Trustees : and then, in 1826, the Trustees, at a June meeting, elected the following Trustees, in Philadelphia, for the superintendence of their Medical Department, viz : Rev. Ashbel Green, D. D., Rev. Jacob J. Janeway, D. D., and the Rev. Ezra Styles Ely, D. D., together with Edward Ingersoll, Joel B. Sutherland, Samuel Badger, Win. Duncan, and James Broom; and they were directed, as soon as qualified and organized, to inquire into the state of the Institution, and report to the Board at Canonsburg. They also created another Professorship of the Institutes of Medicine and Medical Juris- prudence, and elected Dr. Win. C. P. Barton to fill that chair. Two months after, in August, the Board elected Messrs. Edward King, Samuel Humphreys, and Charles C. Cox, addi- tional Trustees for the Medical College, and six of the whole Board was to form a quorum. Dr. Green also was appointed chairman. In 1828, the Board surrendered more entirely the whole concern to the Philadelphia Board, and agreed that their decisions, in all eases, should take effect without waiting for the confirmation of the same at Canonsburg ; and only 116 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. retaining the right of reversing their proceedings, if, in their judgments, the interests of the Institution required it. One important result, which grew out of this matter, was, that an arrangement was made in 1828, to secure the services of one of the Professors of the Medical College, Jacob Green, Esq., to come out to Canonsburg and deliver a series of lectures on Chemistry, Mineralogy, &c, during a part of the summer sessions. And certain perquisites, arising principally from matriculation fees at the Medical College of Philadelphia, were appropriated as a compensation for his services. The interest of the last appropriation from the State, was also employed to purchase chemical and philosophical apparatus, and enlarge the College Libraries. And $300 also from the funds of the Board, were employed for the same purpose. In 1833, the Board appropriated $100 for the payment of Prof. Green's services, as Professor of Chemistry, &c. Thus, through successive years, was this arrangement continued. The Chemical Laboratory and Apparatus were enlarged from time to time, and much advantage to the College and to the interests of science was the result. But to return. The Board, at their meeting, April, 1825 provided that the students should be allowed to occupy th vacant rooms of the new College edifice, as lodging rooms * that the education funds should be appropriated for the accom- modation of their Beneficiaries, in this way ; and that Ben- jamin Williams and John Philips should be a committee, in connection with the Faculty, to arrange these matters. It appears that up to the year 1826, the decisions at the contests, held by the two Literary societies, were made by the Trustees. The Philo Society asked, by petition, at this time, that the Board should hereafter discontinue this usage. The Board advised the Philo Society to invite the Franklin Society to a friendly conference by committees, and get the whole matter adjusted in whatever way they should mutually deter- mine upon, in regard to this point. In January, 1827, the DR. M. BROWN'S PRESIDENCY. 117 two societies applied to the Board to settle this difficulty, and establish some order or rule about the matter. The Board informed them that they had never, by any formal act of the Board, heretofore acted in the case, and suggested to the societies that hereafter it would best comport with the har- mony of the College, and the peculiar nature of these literary exhibitions, that the comparative merits of the respective per- formers should rest upon the impartial decision of the spec- tators generally. Whether the societies adopted the course suggested, and how long, we are not informed. They soon agreed upon the plan of selecting judges of the Contest, each society choosing a certain number, and they, perhaps, choosing an umpire. And on this plan the thing is managed to this day. In 1827, the State Legislature granted another appropria- tion of &1,000, and the same amount for each of two or three successive years. There is also a notice on their Records, March 27, 1833, of $2,000, " as an installment due from the Legislature on the first of the ensuing May/' It would seem that the Legislature had passed an act, some years before, granting an appropriation, by yearly installments. The whole amount we do not know. In 1828, the Bev. Bobt. Baird, D. D., was appointed Pro- fessor of Languages, and Dr. Smith was transferred to the Mathematical chair. But as Dr. Baird declined the appoint- ment, Dr. Smith was continued in his former chair. In 1829, the Associate Body, or the Seceders, as they are commonly called, located their Theological Seminary at Canonsburg ; and as they had not, for some time, the requisite buildings, the Trustees resolved "that the two rooms on the north-west corner of the College be appropriated to the use of the Asso- ciate Church of North America, for their Library and Theo- logical Hall, until they shall have time to provide other buil- dings ; and that public ground be afforded them, if they wish to build in this place." This body, however, did not avail 118 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. themselves of this last proposal — judging wisely that the Theological Seminary should be ; on many accounts, removed to some distance from the College buildings. They chose an eligible site on the left side of the Washington road, near a quarter of a mile from the borough ; and there the Seminary has long flourished. They have recently removed the Insti- tution to Xenia, Ohio. The above arrangement, afforded to them for their temporary accommodation, was not only for the interest of the College, but was justly due to a church whose members had always been the staunch friends of Jefferson College from its eitrliest days. Old Mr. Henderson, we have already seen, was actively concerned in fixing the Academy at Canonsburg, and in watching over its interests in the days of its childhood. The Chartiers Presbytery of that body like- wise united with the Presbyteries of Ohio and Redstone, in vigorous efforts to sustain the Institution, when, but for their united efforts, it must, in all probability, have gone down to rise no more. Dr. Ramsey, also, the successor of Mr. Hen- derson, in the pastoral charge of that large and respectable Seceder congregation, in the vicinity of Canonsburg, was, through a long life, a most devoted friend and patron of Jef- ferson College — always an active member of the Board, whilst in it, and for many years the Hebrew Professor in College. Jefferson College owes much to Dr. Ramse} 7 and the respecta- ble body of Christians of which he was a greatly honored and respectable minister. He was also one of the first Professors in their Theological Seminary. In the Appendix will be found some further notice of him from the pen of Dr. Bev- ridge. In 1829, the Board took measures to erect a new building, so as to afford a spacious hall, and also a sufficient number of rooms for recitation, library, apparatus, &c, and having the basement story so constructed as to furnish accommodation for a refectory and dining room. Measures were also adopted to raise the necessary funds. Dr. Brown was appointed agent DR. M. BROWN'S PRESIDENCY. 119 for this purpose, and his salary increased. The Board deter- mined that 81,000 should be the endowment, for a perpetual scholarship, for the education of a poor student, designed for the gospel ministry. This arrangement was adopted, perhaps, with a view, in part, to invite contributions towards the new building contemplated. The tuition, also, was raised this year to $25 per annum. In the fall of this year, having received an encouraging account of Dr. Brown's success in raising funds, and having appointed the whole Faculty as agents for further efforts, authorizing them to appoint sub-agents, with subscription papers, the Trustees now felt themselves warranted to appoint a building committee, (Messrs. Williams, Philips, Monroe and Allen,') to examine as to the site and dimensions of the building, the propriety of purchasing additional ground, the expense of erection, &c, &c, and to receive proposals. Early in the following year, the Board received their report, and proceeded forthwith in this important enterprise. In the course of less than two years, this building was ready for use. The Trustees held their first meeting in it, March 27, 1833, and called it, at the suggestion of the Kev. Moses Allen, Providence Hall. This is a spacious edifice — sixty feet by ninety in size — furnishing a magnificent hall, where now Com- mencements and Contests are held, and where public worship is also conducted every Sabbath ; and it serves as a house of worship for the Presbyterian congregation of Canonsburg. Whether Dr. M'Millan ever preached in Providence Hall, we are not informed. His death occurred November 16, 1833. He had lived, however, to see this building finished and occu- pied. It does not appear that he was present at the meetings of the Board for the last few years of his life. He had been Secretary and Treasurer for ten years, from 1817 to 1827. There is no record of his having resigned his seat as a Trus- tee, and it is probable he did not resign. But his age and growing infirmities, perhaps, prevented his attendance at the 120 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE meetings of the Trustees for some time before his death. But he lived to see this last edifice completed. And now, when from his home in the country he would visit Canonsburg, how contrasted the view of the College buildings and the town, with that scene which he first beheld when descending the hill east of Chartiers creek in 1775, or 1776. Then a single log cabin occupied the site of Canonsburg, with, per- haps, a few acres of cleared ground around it. Now his aged eyes rested upon that thriving village, and its home of science and literature. How often had his heart throbbed with anx- iety for its interests, and even for its continued existence, more than once in imminent peril. And when he remembered how many had been trained already there, who were now preaching the everlasting gospel, far and wide over the West, and how some who, in poverty and in russet garb, had once been there, and had struggled on through many difficulties, till they were prepared to go forth as heralds of the Cross — had early sunk to the grave, and been called home to their rest ; when he remembered how Grod had blessed with com- plete success, the efforts and struggles of himself and his fel- low-laborers, in the cause of that College, he would, perhaps, exclaim, " what hath the Lord wrought !" The remembrance of these early associates in this noble enterprise, would per- haps bring before his mind the names and persons of many of those that were sleeping in their graves, before Providence Hall was built. He would recollect Henderson and Canon, and M'Dowell and Anderson, and Allison and Brecken, of those earlier times. His early friend and step-brother, Prof. Samuel Miller, had but recently been dismissed to his hea- venly home, in a good old age, beloved and respected by all classes, and almost idolized by all the students that had ever been at Jefferson College. One of the first records of that first meeting of the Board in Providence Hall, reads thus : " On motion, Resolved, That the Treasurer be authorized to DR. M. BROWN'S PRESIDENCY. 121 pay C. Ritchie six dollars, for the College expenses on the funeral of Prof. Miller, deceased." * * " Mr. Miller's course through life was like that of the rivulet, winding its gentle and noiseless and healthful way among the spreading elms which lino its margin, and serve in part to hide its surface from the vulgar gaze, it was very rarely that his own history formed the subject of his conversation with others ; and the only record which now remains is that inscribed in the hearts, which once greeted his presence and profited by his instructions." " Samuel Miller was born on the 4th of March, 1757, at Barrow Water, in the county of Derry, Ireland. His great-grandfather emigrated from Scot- land during the persecutions under Charles II, at which time his estate was confiscated, on account of his attachment to the principles of civil and reli- gious liberty, and bestowed on a younger and more pliable member of the family. The subject of this memoir came to America when he was eleven years of age, in company with his widowed mother, two sisters, and a brother- in-law. Until his sixteenth year, he resided with his mother, in Chester eounty, Pa., prosecuting his education in the academy of a Mr. Law, of whom he always spoke in a tender and respectful manner. At sixteen, ha began to teach in Chester county, and for fifty -seven years, with but two short intervals, he was employed in giving instruction. His first temporary aban- donment of his post had in it something of the romantic. He had been occu- pied in teaching about two years. An old acquaintance appeared at his jchool-house, commissioned as a recruiting officer. Our teacher, and every ^upil of a suitable age, were induced to enlist as common soldiers for one voar. Mr. Miller remained in the service during eighteen months. He formed one of the ' Pennsylvania Line,' in the regiment of Col. (afterwards . the seal of the said Supreme Court, at I SEAL. I Philadelphia, this twenty-third day of September, in the year of our Lord MDCCXCIX. "Edw. Burd, Prothon'i/." Dr. Ralston resided within a few miles of Mingo church, shortening, somewhat, the distance to his further place of preaching. After his settlement and marriage, his laborious but peaceful life wore pleasantly away, amidst much domestic happiness, and. much to cheer him in his labors as a minister of 200 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. Christ. In process of time be had a lovely circle of children around him. He had, in all, three sons and six daughters. But two of these daughters, and two of his sons, he lived to see passing to the grave before him. One of the sons had just completed his preparatory studies for the ministry, with bright promise of distinguished usefulness, when he was removed by death. All these children gladdened their venerable father, by a seasonable and hopeful connection with the visi- ble Church. In his long loneliness, after the death of his wife, whom he survived twenty-four years, his children, and espe- cially one daughter, who remained unmarried, cherished his life and health with more than ordinary filial faithfulness and tender care. His pastoral charges shared largely in those remarkable effusions of Divine influence which were witnessed and felt so extensively in our Western Zion, during the years 1802-3, and '4. The writer remembers, when quite a small boy, to have accompanied his parents (then residing in Rehoboth, Westmoreland county,) over to Horseshoe Bottom. It was in May or June, 1802. There was a great assembly of peo- ple, for those times ; and great religious excitement. Public meetings extended through much of several successive days. And, at night, many again collected at the meeting-house, and the services were continued to a late hour. It was a very solemn time. The writer's father was assisting Dr. Ralston ; and he faintly remembers how they both preached, and prayed, and exhorted. This was nearly, if not quite, the beginning of the revival in Dr. Ralston's charge. It was believed that many were awakened and converted, at that sacramental meeting. There were similar meetings at Mingo, for several years, beginning about that time. Such a season, it is supposed, Dr. Ralston never witnessed before. But he was ready to welcome it, and to co-operate with his brethren, with all his might, in their now increased and abounding labors, during this spiritual harvest. Though Dr. Ralston BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. RALSTON. 201 had not the advantage of a smooth mellifluous voice, or of much natural pathos, he made all the amends in his power for these defects by his earnestness and plainness, and strong and faithful appeals to the reason and consciences of men. Though he could not be said to be a popular preacher, the people of God, and indeed all people of good sense, were always pleased to see his presence at the great revival meet- ings, and to hear his voice, amidst those scenes, when multi- tudes were inquiring for the way of salvation, overwhelmed with sharp conviction and deep distress, or melted into pen- itence and contrition at the foot of the cross. In those days, there was little of that critical and fastidious taste that now prevails. People seemed to hunger for the bread of life ; and they did not turn away from it with indifference and con- tempt, if the voice that directed them to it did not always fall on their ears soft as the gentle murmurs of Siloah's brook : or if the poor earthen vessel, that bore to them the provisions of God's house, did not always remind them of " apples of gold in pictures of silver." Dr. Ralston was called to take his full share in assisting his brethren, espe- cially Dr. M'Millan, on sacramental occasions. For many years, these were memorable seasons in the history of Western Presbyterianism. But as we have spoken of them somewhat at large in our former work, " Old Redstone," we will not here attempt further remarks. The great revival, to which we have referred, has been so well described by Dr. Elliott, in his " Life of Macurdy," that we will not attempt another account. We are sure that it would be no improvement upon his interesting narrative, though indeed many things might be told which he has omitted ; and the materials are not wanting, or difficult of access, for this purpose. But we think it much better, on the whole, to refer our readers to the " Life of Macurdy." It is true, nothing may be found there about the great work in Mingo or Horse-shoe Bottom. But the reader has only to transfer, at least to some extent, what he 202 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. will there find related of the several scenes in the pastoral charges of Messrs. Anderson and Marquis, and Macurdy and Patterson, and M'Millan. But Dr. Ralston was called to render a peculiar service to the cause of religious revivals, in those times. That remarkable work had not long pro- gressed, before it excited dissatisfaction and opposition among some other denominations, and especially the Seceders. Many of their preachers, as early as 1802, began to warn their peo- ple against the work. They denounced it as fanatical, and of Satanic origin. Many of their people, however, could not be kept away from those solemn scenes. In some instances, they became subjects of the revival. In other cases, they knew not what to say ; their mouths were stopped. The min- isters of that body became more and more alarmed. At length, in 1804, they prepared and published a sort of pasto- ral Letter and Testimony, and sent it out, far and wide, over their Churches, and among their people ; and even sought every opportunity to obtrude this publication into our houses and families. This was, however, perhaps, the course pursued only by some of the weaker, yet well-meaning brethren of that body. The sophistry and misrepresentations of the pamphlet were easily answered by our ministers, from the pulpit, and on other occasions. But something more formal and better suited for parrying the attack, and for silencing the enemy, seemed necessary, and loudly called for. Dr. Ralston undertook it. In 1805 there issued from the press, in the town of Washington, a pamphlet of sixty-one pages, with the anonymous signature of "A Presbyterian." But it was well known to be the production of Dr. Ralston j and was popularly called " The Currycomb." How that name was given to it, we have never heard. The title-page is as fol- lows : " Letters addressed to the Rev. Messrs. John Cree, John Anderson, William Wilson, and Thomas Allison, mem- bers of the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania, in answer to their pamphlet entitled l Evils of the work now prevailing in BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RALSTON. 203 the United States of America, under the name of a revival of religion.' Wherein their objections to this work are exam- ined, and shown to be unfounded ; and the work vindicated, as being agreeable to the Word of God. Prov. 17 : 17, 'He that is first in his own cause seemeth justj but his neighbor cometh and searcheth him/ " The first letter is dated November 1st, 1804, and begins thus : " Gentlemen, : — It may be a sufficient apology for address- ing the following letters to you, that I believe the work now prevailing in the United States of America, under the name of a Kevival of Eeligion, to be a gracious work of the Spirit of God; but which you, in a late pamphlet, to which you have affixed your names, style in your title-page, " an evil work," and elsewhere, " a work of delusion '" " a work of enthusiasm •" nay, " a work of the devil." My design in these letters is to examine your objections to this work, and the testimony on which these objections are founded ; and then to assign the reasons which have induced me to believe, and attempt to defend it, as a work of the Spirit of God, for the conviction and conversion of sinners, and for building up believers in their most holy faith." We shall not attempt an abstract of this able produc- tion. He takes up the several objections, or charges brought against the revival, as, — " that it is a work upon the bodies of men;" — "that it cannot be a work of the Spirit of God, because bodily affections are not means of grace •" — " that it tends to bring the subjects of it under such an influence of their imagination and feelings, as is incon- sistent with a due regard to the word of God, as the only ground of faith and rule of duty j" — " that it savors of enthusiasm, because the subjects of the falling exercise are opposed to any medical applications '" — " that it tends to 204 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. the burial of a faithful testimony for many of the precious truths of God's word, that are denied by various religious denominations at the present day •" — " that bodily exercises are rather to be deprecated, as a judgment, than prayed for as benefits ;" — "a judgment," it is insinuated, rather than expressed, "for singing Watts' Psalms and Hymns;" and lastly, " the gross disorders of it." Dr. Ralston takes up these several charges, meets them fairly, and candidly makes many admissions, in perfect consistence with a full and con- clusive refutation of the several grounds of objection. " The Currycomb" must be carefully read to be fully appreciated. We cannot withhold a passage towards the close of the dis- cussion, that may serve as a sample of its power : " Having thus examined your pamphlet particularly — more particularly than I at first intended, or than it, perhaps, deserved — I will now leave it with the reader to decide whether your objections to this work are well founded or not. That they are not sup- ported by the evidence and arguments you have produced for that purpose, I think I may say, without vanity, I have clearly shown ; and, therefore, before you overthrow it, you must take some other ground than that you have taken. I will now, as I have promised, assign you a few of the reasons which have convinced me that it is a gracious work of the Holy Spirit. In the first place, this work was begun and carried on, in this country, (for I do not choose to take my testimony from mangled scraps of foreign letters, for which no person or persons are accountable but their authors,) under the preaching and influence of the following doctrines, viz : the doctrine of the infinite guilt and total depravity of the human race, by the first sin of our first parents, in conse- quence of being represented by them in the covenant of works : the doctrine of the election of part of the human race to eternal life, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth : the doctrine of justification through the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus; of regeneration BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. RALSTON. 205 by the almighty power of the Spirit of God alone ; and of the certain perseverance of all believers, by virtue of the complete satisfaction of Christ, and the unchangeable promises of God ; together with the other doctrines of grace, depend- ing upon and connected with these leading doctrines. You cannot but know, gentlemen, that these doctrines are con- tained in the Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Churches in the United States of America : and I can say, that they are preached by the ministers of this Church, in this country. It is not true, then, as you say, in the eleventh page of your pamphlet, ' That they insist perpetually upon the sanction of the law, to the exclusion of other doctrines no less neces- sary in their place ;' and ' that they preach the terrors of the law to the people, as if they had nothing else to preach to them.' That you meant them in that paragraph, I believe ; and I think you have so much candor left as to acknowledge it, if you were interrogated. You cannot say so, from your own personal knowledge ; for your doctrine respecting ' occasional hearing' has prevented you. Your ground, then, for saying so, is taken from hearsay, or the reports of enemies; as was the case respecting the work we have been considering. No wonder, then, that you mistake and blunder, when you depend upon such vague and indefinite evidence. But not to insist upon this : Secondly, that this is a gracious work of the Spirit of God is apparent to me, from the effects it has produced. It has arrested the atten- tion of the careless and unconcerned. It has aroused the stupid sinner to a sense of his danger, and induced him to cry out, ' what must I do to be saved V It has discovered to the ignorant and self-righteous, that they are not only guilty before God, but also that ' their hearts are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;' and that they need the righteousness of Christ, in order to justification and accept- ance with God. It has caused those who seldom or never bowed the knee to God, or attended on the ordinances of the IK 206 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. gospel, to cry, ' God be merciful to me, a sinner / and to attend diligently on the means of grace. It has reclaimed the wicked and the profligate, and transformed the lion into a lamb. It has brought professed deists to become professed Christians, and turned their cursings into blessings, and their blasphemies into praises. Many who could not relish any religious conversation, are now only delighted when talking about the plan of salvation, and the wonders of redeeming love ; and many, very many, give evidence, by their life and conversation, that they are born of God. And to this I would add, that it has had this effect on many of all ranks, ages, sexes, and colors ; the African as well as the European and American. And the combined hosts of deists, hypocrites and formalists are generally opposed to it. Some also have fallen away : but this is no objection, but rather an evidence that it is a work of the Spirit of God ; for Christ informs us, in the parable of the Sower, (Matt. 13,) that the seed, or the Word of God, fell by ' the way-side/ upon ' stony places/ and ' among thorns/ as well as into ' good ground.' " This able pamphlet was most seasonable and effective. It completely silenced the hostile party. Their pamphlet was written with great plausibility, and evinced pre-eminent talent. It was far from being a weak or scurrilous production. Indeed, the greater part of it is admirable ; especially the first twelve or thirteen pages, in which the nature of the Holy Spirit's operations, in convincing and converting sinners, is described. This part of the Seceder pamphlet deserves to be republished, as a tract. Nothing that we have ever read, is better suited to warn the Church against fanatical errors. Being placed in the outset of the pamphlet, it is well suited to gain the confi- dence of the reader. No one can doubt the piety and deep experience of the writers. But all this rendered their attack on the revival so much the more mischievous. It reminds us of the plausible manner in which certain brethren would begin their speeches in the "General Assembly, twenty years ago. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. RALSTON. 20 i They were so pious and meek, and peace-loving, so earnest in deprecating strife and contention, &c, and then they would pour out the bitterest invectives and sarcasms, and pelt their brethren of the opposite party most unmercifully. But, in regard to these Secedcr writers, we believe they were sincere and honest, and truly pious men. But they were misled by prejudice. They were misinformed. They relied too much, as Dr. Ralston told them, on hearsay. The giant among them was Dr. John Anderson, of King's Creek, a man of profound literary and theological attainments, and of eminent piety, but a perfect recluse in his habits, as ignorant of the world as a monk, or Goldsmith's parson in the Vicar of Wakefield ; and easily misled by others, as to what was going on in the world around him. Soon after the " Currycomb" was published, Dr. Ralston wrote to his countryman and ministerial brother, the Rev. Samuel Porter, and sent him a copy of his pamphlet, asking his remarks upon it. He received in due time the following highly characteristic and entertaining answer : " Westmoreland, March 24, 1805. " Rev'd. Brother : — I received your letter and pamphlet, and have taken up my pen to make observations, to which nothing could have excited me but the urgency of your request. Few clergymen can bear anything but flattery ; and I despise the want of candor. Therefore, silence is generally best. Your piece is a good desultory defence and attack, and looks more like the fortunate opening of a campaign than the battle which terminates a war. You have, with propriety, made excursions into the territories of your enemies ; and have treated them as they deserved, and with the very same kind of delicacy with which they have treated the Presbyterians ; except that you have given them some fal, lal, about your friendship to their Church, and hopes of their reformation. You charge your antagonists with the crime of assigning par- 208 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. ticular causes for the judgments of God, and, although you use qualified language, yet you are, in fact, strongly guilty of the same practice. It will give you some trouble to defend your reasoning from Hebrew 12 : 5. — ' Strengthen the hands of Voltaire.' Voltaire is dead : what figure in rhetoric will support the expression ? Pages 13, 14, you insinuate that it is not strange for those who have been educated in America, or in the backwoods, to be ignorant of logic and destitute of common sense. ' Sucked the breasts of the Universities/ is not, to my recollection, sanctioned by any of the English classical authors. Your criticism on the difference between ' suffer' and ' experience/ as applied to convulsive spasms, is ingenious, but it will probably be thought to belong to the wire-drawing system. ' Is the work in question a work of the Spirit of God, and can Anderson's theological pills prevent the Almighty Spirit from extending the work ?' Page 37. Your reasoning respecting Peter's hearers is liable to criti- cism. I am not certain ' that the work has neither impaired the bodies nor the minds of any of the subjects of it, in the smallest degree.' Page 48. I do not see how the absurdity in question, nor any other absurdity of the Seceders, can afford a strong proof that the work is a work of the Spirit of God. ' Falling away' is not a very strong evidence of a work of the Spirit of God. You may be able to defend what you have advanced respecting a concert of prayer, but I could not. . It is probable that the eye of criticism will discover, in several places, that your assertions are stronger than the evidence by which they are supported. On the whole, you are able to defend the main ground. And you will understand my idea of the piece generally, when I inform you that since I read it, I have determined that I will not deliver my sermon before the Synod, but will take some common-place subject, for the reason that I think the Seceders are in good hands, and they have got, and will get so much beating, that it would be unmanly and cruel for me to fall upon them too. Therefore BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DE. RALSTON. 209 I shall transcribe my sermon, make some alterations and addi- tions, and leave it among my papers for the use of my chil- dren, when I am gone. I am, &c, "Sam'l. Porter. " Mr. Ralston. " P. S. On reading your pamphlet, I committed the above observations to paper, and intended to correct and enlarge them, and send them to you by post. But just as I had finished my outlines, Mr. M'Millan, Jr., came in ; and I now send them in their original dress. I have read the piece a second time, and am more strongly convinced that your comment on Heb. 12 : 5, will not stand the test of sound criti- cism. Your criticism on the expression ' some ministers,' &c., page 32, may possibly be traced to the hair-splitting system. ' Ye/ instead of ' you/ has become in a great measure obso- lete, with good writers. Your excursions to Noblestown, &c. ; &c, &c, are deservedly severe; but I am afraid that men who are not acquainted with the treatment we have received from the "Western Seceders, will think that they were written in the old exploded polemic spirit. In a word, your pamphlet will please the majority of the friends of the work ; and it will bring the coldest Seceder under heaven, who reads it, to experience warm, lively feelings. You are undoubtedly able to fight the Seceders, up and down, crooked or straight, rough or smooth, and with their own weapons, too. " S. P." On the back of the letter is written, " Send me two dozen copies of your Spirits of Vitriol," * * It will be seen from this letter, that Mr. Porter twice refers to Mr. Rals- ton's inference from Heb. 12 : 5, "The Word of God is quick and powerful," Ac. " Not only," says Dr. Ralston, " is it evident to me, from this passage, that the Word of God, in the hand of the Almighty Spirit, acts sometimes as instantaneously on the soul as an electric shock on the body, but that when applied with power, the body, or what the Apostle styles ' the joints and marrow,' is affected as instantaneously also, by virtue of its union with 18* 210 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. Upon a review of the positions taken and the course pursued by the Seceders, in reference to the great Western revival, at* this distant point of time, we are by no means certain that, after all, they did not exert a wholesome conservative influ- ence during that period. We are not sure that but for them, there was not some real danger, in certain quarters, of the friends and subjects of the " falling work," as it was called, running into fanatical and pernicious excesses. Nor, on the other hand, were the Seceders cut off from all benefit of that mighty outpouring of the Spirit. For many years past, dating back nearly, if not quite, to that period, this section of the Presbyterian body has been growing into a more evan- gelical spirit, has been becoming increasingly active, in the various causes of Bible and Tract distribution, of Sunday- the soul ; and this passage satisfies me with respect to the bodily affections bo prevalent in the present day, which seem to be a stumbling block to so many." Most readers will, perhaps, concur with Mr. Porter in doubting the soundness of this reasoning. Mr. Porter's remark that Dr. Ralston had insinuated that "it is not strange that those educated in the backwoods should be ignorant of logic and destitute of common sense," is altogether a mistake. Dr. Ralston's language is this : " That those of you who have been educated in America, or in the backwoods, where, as I have been told, some of you say there is little learning to be found, especially among tho Presbyterian clergy, should reason in this manner, would perhaps not bo strango ; but that two of you, who have sucked the breasts of the most renowned Universities of Scotland, and one of you, the father of a whole volume, besides several pamphlets, should thus reason, is to me truly aston- ishing." It is plain that Mr. Porter's criticism is without foundation. He excepts also to the classical purity of the expression, "sucked the breasts of the Universities," forgetting the language in Isaiah, 60 : 16 : " Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings." We shall not, however, examine all Mr. Porter's romarks and criticisms. As in the forogoing specimens, some of them appoar to be sound, and others of little force. We cannot concur with Mr. Porter in his remark that Ralston's pamphlet " seomed more like the fortunate opening of a campaign than the battle which terminates tho war." Though it was doubtloss opon, in many places, to successful assault, yet as a whole it was the closing battle, as it certainly proved in fact. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. RALSTON. 211 schools, and of foreign and domestic missions. Their preach- ing, always instructive in matter, is, of late years, improving in manner. Their sermons, considered as exhibitions and vindications of "the faith once delivered to the saints," were generally superior to those of most of our ministers. But their preachers lacked animation, pathos, and unction. They seemed to eschew all natural eloquence. It was certainly right for them to cherish an abhorrence and contempt of all appearance of playing the orator, or making rhetorical flour- ishes in the sacred desk. But from some unaccountable cause, they seemed to run to the opposite extreme. We have heard many of them making able speeches in their judicatories, with natural tones of voice, in an easy, fluent and graceful manner. But when they entered the pulpit, they left all this behind them, and seemed to think it a sin to preach in the same easy, natural way in which they made their speeches. But we are satisfied that there is a great improvement, as we deem it, in all these respects, of late years. And we cannot but rejoice that this branch of the Presbyterian family, to whom the church at large is more indebted for its conserva- tive influence than we have ever, perhaps, been willing to acknowledge, abounds with many of the most eloquent, as well as the most sound and orthodox ministers in our Western Zion. For several yaers, Dr. Ralston pursued the even tenor of his course, as a diligent and faithful country pastor. Soon after his settlement at Mingo, he became a Trustee of the Academy at Canonsburg. His name first appears on the records of the Board, April 24th, 1798. When, in 1802, a charter for Jefferson College was obtained, his name is found in the Act of the Legislature, among the list of Trustees. He was chosen President of the Board, April 26th, 1808, and re-elected to that office every year for nearly forty years ! His attendance at the semi-annual meetings of the Board was almost constant. Regularly in March and September, he 212 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. would be found wending his way from his home, through all kinds of weather, fourteen miles, to Canonsburg. Over the interests of that rising institution he watched with parental solicitude and care. And richly was he rewarded by its grow- ing prosperity and success, and especially by the great num- ber of ministers of the Gospel that were conducted through their collegiate course, during his long administration as Presi- dent of the Board. It may not be out of place, or uninter- esting to some, to observe that as President of the Trustees he succeeded Judge John M'Dowell, who had been chosen April 27th, 1803, and re-elected four successive years, till his age and infirmities compelled him to resign. When, in 1802., the Academy was raised to a College, Judge James Edgar was chosen President. It is true Dr. M'Millan was chosen the first President of the Trustees of the College ; but two days afterwards, when he was appointed Vice President of the College, and Professor of Divinity, his seat as a Trustee was necessarily vacated, and Judge Edgar was appointed President in his place, and another person was elected to fill the vacancy in the Board. Having already, in " Old Red- stone," given some account of this very eminent man, we will add nothing further respecting him here. But the first President of the old Board of the Academy, whose name appears on their records in 1796, was another man, perhaps not much inferior to either of those above mentioned — Judge James Allison, who, like the others, was also a ruling elder in the Church. These three men were all very eminent for their piety and great influence in the Church. They were all of Scotch-Irish descent — all emigrated from Eastern Penn- sylvania about the same time, and lived to exert a blessed influence on the cause of education and religion in the West. Dr. Ralston might well be gratified by having such a noble Bet of men as his predecessors in office. It is a little out of chronological order to notice here a circumstance in the life of Dr. Ralston, which properly BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. RALSTON. 213 belongs to the summer of 1801 or 1802. He took an excur- sion to Ohio, and was engaged for some weeks in preaching the Gospel, visiting destitute " settlements" and organizing churches. Among the churches he organized were Mount Pleasant and Buckskin, not far from Cincinnati. In these churches, shortly after, began that mighty work of grace, the first revival of religion west of the Ohio. This was in the summer and fall of 1802. These, and several other churches in that region, had applied to the Presbytery of Ohio, at their April meeting, in Washington, for supplies : and the Rev. Robert Johnston, then but recently licensed, was sent out by the Presbytery to supply these churches for two months. While he was there, the revival, which had spread extensively during the previous year, through the southern and western part of Kentucky, seemed to cross the Ohio, and make its first beginning and gather its first fruits in those churches which Dr. Ralston had previously organized. We may well conceive how this circumstance would fill him with rejoicing and gratitude ; and perhaps it greatly contributed to deepen his interest in that mighty work, which he was, three years afterwards, engaged in defending against the assaults of its enemies. For the greater part of the above statement we are indebted to the Rev. H. S. Fullerton, of South Salem, Ohio, and to the Rev. Dr. William Wylie. We pass over a considerable period of Dr. Ralston's life, which, though filled up with arduous labor, and with many interesting incidents, in his various relations of pastor, pres- byter and trustee, yet scarcely possess sufficient importance to find a place in our limited biographical sketch. We come next to notice his second debut, as an author, in 1824. A few years previous to this time, there appeared in Western Pennsylvania and Virginia, a young Scotch-Irishman, Alex- ander Campbell, accompanied by his father, the Rev. Thomas Campbell. The elder Campbell had been a preacher before he left his native land, and came out from Ireland some time 214 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. before the son. He preached in one or two vacant Secession churches in Washington County, without leave or authority from the Presbytery. And when he subsequently sought admission into the Presbytery and was rejected, he still con- tinued to preach in some of their vacant churches, to the serious, though temporary distraction and confusion of those churches. Upon the arrival of his son, they both sought ecclesiastical connection with the Associate Presbytery of Chartiers, and with the Presbytery of Ohio. But failing to attain the position they sought, they soon obtained notoriety by a new and bold path they made for themselves, in connec- tion with the Baptist church.* It was but a short time, before the novelty of their principles, and the revolutionary tendency of their discourse, threw them out of fellowship with that body. But they drew after them an immense number of follow- ers, principally from the Baptist persuasion. In respect to the ordinance Of baptism, they were thorough Baptists, both as to the subjects and mode of that Christian rite. But they discarded the old doctrinal system of the Baptists, in almost every other respect. When they reached this point in their career, the younger Campbell became the great leader and champion. According to their new creed, to be immersed * " They first appeared before the Redstone Association, in September, 1813, with one or two others, as delegates from a recently organized church on Brush creek, about twonty miles west of Washington ; asking for themselves and the church which they represented, the fellowship of the Association. They had recently been baptized on a profession of their faith in Christ, by the Rov. Matthias Luce, pastor of a Baptist church on Ten-mile creek. The Messrs. Campboll, father and son, had recently come from Ireland, where they had been connected with the Secession church, of which the father had been a distinguished minister. They then maintained with firm- ness and ability the leading doctrines of the Calvinistic school, but refused to acknowledge any Confession of Faith ; but at the same time agreod to sub- mit to the most rigid examination of thoir doctrinal principles that the Asso- ciation, or any of its members, might think proper to make. A careful examination was made and they wore rocoived into the fellowship of the Asso • ciation."— " Two Discourses," by Dr. Estep. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. RALSTON. 215 was to perform the act of faith ; and baptism, by immersion, secured the remission of sins. There was no need of a spe- cial agency of the Holy Spirit to regenerate the sinner. The doctrine of regeneration, as we, in common with orthodox Baptists, hold it, was utterly repudiated by Alexander Camp- bell. These, and a few other less important points, together with a furious assault upon all creeds and confessions, made up what is now extensively known by the name of " Camp- bellism." Mr. Campbell, Jr., eagerly sought public discus- sion, and challenged the clerical world to furnish a champion. The Rev. John Walker, of the Secession church, took up the gauntlet and met Mr. Campbell. They discussed the subject of baptism for several days. This debate Mr. Campbell soon after published ; giving of course his own version of it, very much to his own advantage. He claimed a complete victory. He and his friends were active in giving a wide circulation to the pamphlet. The adroitness of Mr. Campbell was particu- larly displayed in making this debate turn mainly on the subject of baptism, its mode and proper subjects ; and under covert of this pretended triumph, more successfully propa- gating his more vital doctrinal errors, and gaining proselytes, especially from the Baptists, to his party. This was, indeed, the result, beyond, perhaps, his most sanguine expectations. Great pains were taken to throw this pamphlet over the entire field of Dr. Ralston' s labors. The Doctor found it necessary to buckle on his a*mor and prepare for battle. This he did in his pulpit. But in this way alone, he knew he could not fully reach the evil. He wrote and published in the Presby- terian Magazine, a series of letters, reviewing the debate. These letters he soon after published in a pamphlet of 300 pages. He had carefully revised and enlarged the letters, and added two more, addressed to Mr. Walker. The work is entitled " A Review of a Debate on Christian Baptism, between Mr. John Walker, a minister of the Secession, and Mr. Alexander Campbell, a Baptist minister, published by 216 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. Mr. Campbell — in a series of letters addressed and dedicated to the united congregations of Mingo creek and Williamsport : by their affectionate pastor, Samuel Ralston. To which is now added a reply to objections made by both Mr. Campbell and Mr. Walker." This little book was published in Wash- ington, 1825. It is certainly a masterly performance. It carries us over the entire field usually occupied by the Baptist controversy. The reader will find every argument of essen- tial importance fully and fairly brought forward, on both sides of .the subject. It is a valuable storehouse, an excellent arsenal, where any one who may have occasion, will find all he wants, in discussing the subject of baptism. There is, however, one feature of this valuable work, which not a little mars it, in our estimation. He contends that the Abrahamic covenant, recorded in the 17th chapter of Genesis, is a mere ecclesiastical covenant — that as circumcision was its seal under the former dispensation, so baptism is now the seal merely of the external, visible church — that a profession of saving faith is not necessary to admission, through the ordi- nance of baptism ; in other words, that an historical faith, a moral life, and professed subjection to the discipline of the church, are sufficient to entitle any one to admission into the visible church by baptism, and to bring with them also, of course, their children. Yet he would not, on these terms, receive them to the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. In order to admission to this seal of the covenant, satisfactory evidence of evangelical repentance and saving faith, should be required. In this way he would distinguish, in regard to the two ordi- nances of the Grospel. His views of the true construction of the commission " to disciple all nations/' are of course modi- fied by his positions, as to the qualifications requisite to admis- sion, by baptism, into the visible church. He believed that not only infants, but others who are willing to place them- selves under the culture of the church, are, by baptism, taken out of the visible kingdom of Satan, in which all are born, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. RALSTON. 217 as the children of a degenerate parent, and planted in the vineyard, or church of (rod, the usual birth-place of the chil- dren of grace ; and become ontitled, by the divine promise, to what Christ calls, " digging about and dunging," or such instruction, by the Word and Spirit, through the instrumen- tality of their parents, and of the church, as is calculated to make them " trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified." Through various portions of the work, Dr. Ralston maintains, with great ingenuity and force of argument, his peculiar views. He endeavors also to meet every objection. He is very far from defending any lax or latitudinarian system, as to the discipline of the church, or as to admission to the Lord's Table. He is no advocate for any mincing or softening down of the terms of the gospel, or the humbling truths of man's total depravity, and entire dependence on the sovereign grace of God, for a new heart and a right spirit. Yet we think he entirely breaks down, when he attempts to show a distinction between the condi- tions of the two seals of the covenant ; or rather, to show that one is a seal of an ecclesiastical covenant, and the other the seal of the covenant of grace. And when he attempts to explain away the cases of Lydia, of the Jailor, and of the Eunuch, in every one of which it seems to us clear, that not a mere speculative or historical faith, but a true, saving faith was professed, we think there is what Mr. Porter calls much " wire-drawing." It is not our purpose, however, to discuss this subject. We must admit that Dr. Ralston has put forth the strength of a mighty mind in maintaining his ground. And we would advise any one who may ever meet with this work, to read over Turretine's " De foedere gratice," especially his " Locus duodecimus," before he decides the question, which Dr. Ralston so ably discusses. The progress of " Campbellism" in Western Pennsylvania, we have no doubt, was greatly checked by Dr. Ralston's work. That bold, eloquent, talented, but unscrupulous here- 19 218 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. siarch, was shown up in his true colors, and his influence was crippled. Except in a few localities, where there was little opportunity to enlighten the people, his erroneous tenets gathered but few disciples. And so matters remain to this day. So far as we have been able to learn, that form of error is on the decline in Western Pennsylvania, and evangelical Christianity should honor the memory of Dr. Ralston.* In 1842, Dr. Ralston published " A brief explication of the principal Prophecies of Daniel and John, as they regard the Church of God ;" to which was added " An Appendix, containing an inquiry into the propriety of using an Evangel- ical Psalmody, in the worship of God." Of this work, though we have read it with great satisfaction, we prefer to let Dr. Magill speak : " Here, at the age of eighty -six, when retired from pastoral life to a quietude and seclusion from the world, which would have relaxed to second childhood many another man of sixty years, we have a display of power to observe, and generalize, and investigate profoundly, which very few, in the vigor of their prime can ever attain. Volumes of useful information are compressed in a duodecimo, of some one hun- dred and eighty pages. Faber, Newton, Croly, Scott, Keith, &c, dissected with a master's hand ; their merits indicated, and their defects ascertained, with a brevity and fidelity which compel our admiration. Indeed, the student of philosophy can scarcely find a better history of criticism on this great *Dr. Magill, in his beautiful obituary of Dr. Ralston, speaking of this work on baptism, says : " When Cauipbellism began to agitate the country, and the founder of tbo sect was glorying in his victory over Walker and others, whom he encountered in oral debate, Dr. Ralston published a book on baptism, comprising a review of the debate with Mr. Walker, and letters in reply to an attack of Mr. Campbell on this Review. This little work is one of remarkablo force and erudition. No subsequent debato with Camp- bell, however triumphant and deservedly popular, has evinced greater skill or cogency in exposing his protean sophistry. Whatever diversity of opinion may exist among us respecting some positions taken by the author, all must concede that in originality and power, this book is one of surpassing merit." BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RALSTON. 219 subject, with any volume of moderate size. And as a key of interpretation, it is precisely such as was inevitable to a gigan- tic mind laboring without a library. Connected with this publication, and bound up in the same volume, is a pungent examination of a Mr. Reid's book, entitled " The Seven Last Plagues." The sixth vial of this book is poured out on all Christendom, excepting the sect to which the author belongs, with special aim to overwhelm the churches in which Christ is sung expressly, as having already come in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. His strictures on Mr. Reid brought Dr. Ralston into the Psalmody controversy, and occasioned the next and last publication from his pen, " A Defence of Evangelical Psalmody." Manly discussion, inflexible deter- mination to keep his antagonist to the true point at issue, and a calm dignity of manner, which no misrepresentation or abuse could disturb, eminently characterize this last effort of his life to be useful through the press. It was made in the eighty-eighth year of his life. The whole history of modern polemics cannot produce a parallel instance, perhaps, of such fresh activity, quick perception, spirited reply, and powerful concentration, beyond the limits of four-score years. We heartily unite in this testimony. Though there are por- tions of this work that we think Dr. Ralston would not have written in the full vigor of his intellectual powers, there are other parts that we regard as admirable. Nothing that has been written, on this rather unprofitable controversy, is more to the point, in our judgment, than Dr. Ralston's " No. V., containing Scriptural precedents for an Evangelical Psalmody." The part of the volume which we regard as least interest- ing, and most assailable, is what he says about " Human Inventions," and " Human Composure." The writer, we think, is betrayed into a species of logomachy, of little importance to the issue of the case. This last work of Dr. Ralston was well received and exten- sively circulated. It was perhaps more generally read than 220 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. any thing which he had previously written. But his pilgrim- age on earth was drawing to a close. He had, in 1836, given up the charge of Williamsport church ; a few years after he resigned also that of Mingo. In his quiet residence on his farm, he waited with patience the coming of his master. He continued till near his last days to attend the services of God's house — though increasing deafness must have greatly dimin- ished his enjoyment in the sanctuary. He generally attended the Presbyterial and Synodical meetings of his brethren. But he had witnessed the successive departure from this life of all his first fellow-laborers in the gospel ministry. In 1832, he had been called to preach a discourse at Chartiers, in reference to the death of Dr. M'Miilan, his earliest and most intimate Western friend.* But his own sojourn was protracted far beyond the usual limit of human life. For not till September 25, 1851, did he receive his dismission. Then, in the bosom of his family, in great quietness and peace, he gently sunk into the arms of death, and fell asleep in Jesus. We cannot better close this memoir, than by giving the concluding part of Dr. Magill's obituary notice of this aged servant of God : " It was a matter of regret to this vene- rable father, as he once said to the writer, with manifest emo- tion, that nearly all his writings were controversial ; that he had been a man of war from his youth. It had been his duty. It was not his natural disposition : his temper was peculiarly bland, and genial and courteous. As a remarkable illustra- tion of his pacific turn, as well as honorable and delicate sen- sibility, his successors in the pastoral charge always loved him, more than feared ; and always found him scrupulously *No one can read that discourse without feeling- a deeper sentiment of veneration and respect for the character of Dr. M'Miilan. It will also, perhaps, exalt the talents and piety of Dr. Ralston more than anything he has ever written, while it cannot fail to throw a new interest upon the past and future of Jefferson College. It deserves to be read " twice through without stopping." — J. S. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RALSTON. 221 careful to hold up their hands, and strengthen them in the respect and affections of their people. It is rather a sad com- mentary on the frailties of retiring ministers, that we must hold up this trait of Dr. Ralston as anywise remarkable and singular. It is true, we have other beautiful illustrations of such magnanimity among us ; but it is to be lamented greatly that some men contrive, without exactly designing it, to embroil the people they can no longer feed, and take a per- verse care that no one succeed to the confidence and love in which they were once embosomed. This noble patriarch in our Zion lived only to cheer and bless the young brethren who followed him, in one branch of his charge, twenty years, and in the other fifteen years, after his retirement. ' He loved peace,' writes the pastor of Mingo Church, where Dr. Ralston continued to reside and worship, 'and the business of peace-making was his great delight.* And all his influ- ence went to establish the pastor in the affections of the peo- ple. There was much that was truly generous and kind in the elements of his soul. His friendship was ardent and constant.' As a preacher, he was eminently didactic and dis- tinctive ; clear, copious and profound in the exposition and defence of saving truth. And yet, like every man of truly gifted mind, he was full of strong emotion ; which led him to earnest and strong appeals of a practical kind. Perhaps his manner of treating subjects had too much of a contro- versial air : but with him there was no bitterness of spirit. He was the very opposite of that modern picture of Christian *When asked once in Presbytery for his session-book, he replied, "We have hud nothing to record." "Do you never have any judicial proceed- ings ?" was asked. " We nover had but one case, and that many years ago ; and I was determined then that we would never have another. We get such matters settled without a judicial process !" And yet he did nofc neglect discipline. — J. S. 19* 222 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. love which hates nothing so much as honesty and earnest- ness, in maintaining one's own conviction of truth and duty. What he stoutly claimed for himself, he heartily granted to others. He was therefore truly catholic in his feelings, and utterly remote from bigotry and rancor. He loved with broad and deep affection all that differed from him; just in pro- portion to the enlightened zeal with which he vindicated the distinctive tenets of his own profession. As an ecclesiastic, he was ever distinguished for punctuality and faithfulness in attending church courts. Always attentive and interested in the business of a judicatory, he acquired such a ready apprehension of matters usually transacted there, that even when he ceased to hear the ordinary tones of speech on the floor, he could discern what many others who had ears to hear, failed to perceive ; and mingle the expressions of his own opinion with a pertinence which often excited the wonder of his juniors. Indeed, until he was over ninety years old, and his infirmities absolutely hindered him from travel, he was among the most regular, useful members of the Presbytery and the Synod. He possessed pre-eminently that triple ele- ment of Christian courage, which the Apostle describes as ' the spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind.' Ar- dent as were his feelings, constitutionally, and ready as they were to be zealously affected in every good thing, (as in the great revival, where bodily affections were strangely intermin- gled,) he was exceedingly discreet and sober, and well bal- anced in his estimation of a popular rage or fanatical excite- ment. Long before the General Assembly was brought to rebuke the technical Abolitionism of the day, and before the Princeton Review, or any other conservative journal, spoke out on the subject, Dr. Ralston was well known to inculcate the very same principles of scriptural truth and practical wis- dom that now govern, with almost universal consent, our favored Church on the agitated subject of slavery. Resem- BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. RALSTON. 223 bling these solid attributes of his understanding, was the type of his personal piety. It was remarkably free from irregular impulse and distressing variation. Tender and humble, and self-abasing, it was yet almost uniformly serene and cheerful. Few men exhibited a more delicate and lively appreciation of God's favor, in the smallest mercies of his Providence or grace. Gratitude, then, fiducial gratitude, which will, under any circumstances, ' thank God and take courage,' which so beautifully distinguished the piety of David, and with which he ever imbues even the saddest song — ' Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice' — was the prevailing characteristic of Dr. Ralston's personal piety. Upon this beautiful adornment of a calm and thankful spirit, he wore the gem of consistency, which no man could ever impeach. Temptation to swerve was not only repelled by the dignity of his peculiar character, but far more was vanquished by a conscientiousness, which a fitful and variable experience of personal religion lamentably wants. His powerful mind, active, unclouded and strong, till the very last, grappled with the last enemy, death, as it had been wont to do with sin and error, for almost a century of time. He was cheerful and happy in the prospect, girded and roused, yet tranquil, and even sublime, in the near approach. On the day of his death, he looked out once more on the visible mili- tant Church, that he had loved so much, and watched with so great solicitude — reading with fresh interest a late number of the Presbyterian. Then as the struggle came on, he calmly felt his own pulse, found it sinking away, and exclaimed, without faltering or agitation : ' I am ready ; I am a sinner saved by grace. Tell my brethren — tell the congregation that I die in the faith I have so long preached. I die relying upon the meritorious righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ : What a blessing to have such a rock !' " The congregation of Mingo and Monongahela City erected 224 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. a beautiful marble monument over his grave, in the Mingo creek burying ground, with the following inscription : REV. SAMUEL RALSTON, D. D., BORN In Ireland, 175 6. DIED September 2 5, 1851. He was educated in the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Emigrated to the United States, A. D. 1794. Ordained pastor of the United Congregations of Mingo Creek and Monongahela City, 1796. On this field he sowed the good seed of the word, for nearly half a century. Distinguished as a scholar, a profound expositor of sacred truth, a faithful watchman on the walls of Zion, and a devoted servant of God, he was intimately iden- tified with the advancement of literature, religion and religious liberty, in this Western country. " And he, being dead, yet speaketh." " The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance." The following discourse, delivered on the death of Dr. M'Millan, contains so much that is worthy to be read, that we cannot doubt its insertion here will be acceptable to many readers : A FUNERAL SERMON On the occasion of the death of the Rev. John M'Millan, D. D., late of Ohartiers. By Samuel Ralston. " My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof." 2 Kings, 2 : 12. These words are tho strong and fervid exclamation of the prophet Elisha, when he saw his spiritual father and beloved master ascending to heaven in a chariot of firo. To understand the full import, and feel the force of these words, it will bo necessary to recollect that, in those days, the principal strength of a nation for defending themselves, and repelling thoir enemies, consisted in their chariots of war, and cavalry or horsemen. From the days of Abraham to the coming of Christ, tho visible church, tho usual birthplace BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RALSTON. 225 of the children of grace, was confined to the descendants of that patriarch, in the line of Isaac and Jacob ,• who, on account of his prevalency with God, by prayer, was surnanied Israel. In the days of Elijah, true religion, which consists in the knowledge and sincere worship of Jehovah, the true and the living God, had experienced a woeful decline in the Jewish nation* especially in that portion of it comprehending the kingdom of Israel. We are told in the 19th chapter of the 1st Book of Kings, that in all that kingdom there were only seven thousand men, with the prophet Elijah, who had not bowed the knee to Baal, one of the idol gods of the surrounding idolatrous nations. Elisha was doubtless acquainted with this woeful degeneracy ; and it was doubtless this circumstance, with other mournful considerations hereafter to be mentioned, that constrained him to exclaim, when his beloved master was removed from him, " My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof:" It was as if he had said, " what will become of the church of the true and living God, when thou, my father, the unbending advocate of the truth and of true religion, the honest preacher of righteous- ness, and the undaunted reprover of error and immorality, even in kings, art taken from us. May we not expect still more degenerate days, unles3 Jehovah will, in mercy, raise up another, or others, who will vindicate the truth, and endeavor to put a stop to prevailing error and irreligion ?" And the King and Head of the church did so, in the person of the mourning and almost distracted Elisha himself: he received a double portion of his mas- ter's spirit. The doctrine evidently deducible from this affecting incident is, that the death of good men, though to them unspeakable gain, is a most serious public loss, to both Church and State, but especially to the church ; and ought to be deplored and improved by survivors, by being followers of them, wherein they followed Christ. " Be not slothful," saith the Apostle, " but followers of them, who, through faith and patience, inherit the prom- ises." Our design, then, on the present occasion, is to show in what respects the death of good men is a public loss, especially to the church ; with a spe- cial reference to the loss which we have experienced in the death of our father and friend, the late Dr. John M'Millan, whoso decease we are assem- bled this day to deplore. 1st. All good men are lovers of the truth, especially of the truth as it is in Jesus. They love it not only for its own sake, but because they know that it is by the truth, and by the truth only, that man, immersed by sin in thick moral darkness, and the slave of vice, can be led to see his danger, and to feel his deep moral maladies, and bo persuaded to accept of that rem- edy which God has provided in his Son, as a Redeemer from wrath and from sin, and who is able and willing to redeem all who will go unto him. Yes, it is by the mournful and Scriptural truth, that man is now a guilty, morally defiled, and morally helpless creature, that he can be convinced of his danger, and constrained to inquire, " what he shall do to be saved." It 226 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. is also by the gracious and glorious truth, that God so loved the world, guilty and rebellious and wicked as it is, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, should not perish, but have everlasting life — that the awakened sinner is preserved from sinking into despair, and from rushing against the bosses of Jehovah's buckler, and to cry, "Lord, save mo, I perish ;" and who never suffered any to perish who have cried to him for salvation from wrath and from sin. And it is by the truth that there is an all-sufficiency of grace in Christ, that the humble and honest believer is supported and sanctified. " Sanctify them through thy truth : thy word is truth," is one of the last and gracious prayers that Christ offered up to his Heavenly Father in behalf of his church and people. Need I tell a single individual present how distinguished our father and friend, whose decease we are met to deplore, was in teaching and preaching these radical truths and fundamental doctrines of the religion of Jesus. Many of you remem- ber how you felt, perhaps trembled, when that man of God, for the purpose of awakening you to a sense of your danger, and showing you your need of the Saviour, portrayed in his own peculiarly strong but scriptural terms, the indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, that await all who live and die without an interest in that blood that was shed for the remission of sins. As just now observed, this is a radical principle in the Christian sys- tem, and should be an indispensable element in every sermon ; and in preaching it, our departed father and friend exceeded all men we have ever met with or heard preach. What avails it that a preacher unfolds to his audionco in the clearest manner the character and offices of the Saviour whom God has provided, if at the same time he neglects, or but faintly points out the wretchedness and danger of the wicked, or of the thoughtless and unbelieving ? They are not morally sick, but whole, in their own estimation. Therefore all that can be told them of the wisdom and grace of the plan of redemption, through Christ, is in the nature of things confined to the intellect, but can never pierce the conscience, nor affect the heart. Not so, however, was it with the late pastor of this congregation. Knowing the terrors of the Lord, and knowing also that Christ came into the world, not to call the righteous, or those who suppose they are righteous, but sinners, or those who feel they are sinners, to repentance, he spent his strength and life endeavor- ing to convince them that they were morally wretched and poor, and misera- ble, and blind and naked; for the purpose of persuading them to go to Christ, " for gold tried in the fire, that they might be enriched ; for white raiment, that they might bo clothed, and that the shame of their nakedness might not appear ; and to anoint their eyes with eye salve of his grace, that they might see" — see at the same time their inveterate disease and gracious remedy. He did not tell you, as, alas ! some preachers within even the palo of the Presbyterian church tell their hearers, that conversion is an easy work; as easy as to rise from their seats and walk out of their pews, and BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. RALSTON. 227 that they had sufficient ability so to do ; but he told you, from the word of God, that you were without strength — that your ability and strength to turn from sin to holiness, was to be found in Christ, and Christ alone, through the agency of his Holy Spirit, given to all who honestly ask that gift in his name, or for his sake — that to obtain this strength you should cry unto himj and that while you were crying, you should endeavor to cast yourselves upon him, who is made of God, to all who do so, "wisdom and righteousnses and sanctification and redemption." He never told you, as some falsely charge those who hold that salvation is altogether of grace, as tolling their hearers to wait God's own time to convert you ; and if he convorted you, well and good, and if not, you were not to blame ; but he impressed upon you in the strongest manner, the obligation you were under to believe that record which God has given in his precious Word, respecting his Son, that in him, and in him alone, there is life; and exhorted you while you acknowledged and bewailed your deep moral imbecility to concoive even a good thought to plead his precious promises, " to tako away the heart of stone and to give you an heart of flesh," or an humble, tender and believing heart to put his Spirit within you, and to cause you, " to walk in his statutes and keep his judgments and do them." And when you had ground to hope, that God had graciously heard your cry, you remember well, wo trust, that in exhorting you to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, he told you that it is God who works in his children to will and to do of his good pleasure ; and directed you at the same time to look unto and to depend on his all- sufficient grace. And here let me further call up to your remembrance tho glowing fervor with which he held up to your view the blessed Jesus, as the only city of refuge, where the sword of inflexible justice can neither reach nor punish. Do not many of you remember how your hearts burned within you, when he exhibited him in all his transcendent loveliness, as God-man-Mediator, the Brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person, and in whom all the fullness of the Godhead substantially dwells ? And when he depicted the love of Jesus in dying, the just for the unjust, and receiving the sword of inflexible justice into his own spotless bosom, to pre- vent its being sheathed in your guilty hearts, did not your trembling, and, at the same time, exulting souls, exclaim with the Apostle, " It is a faithful saying, or a saying worthy of all credit, and worthy of all accepta- tion, that Christ came into the world to save sinners, even the chiefest of them?" And have you not felt a willingness to be saved by this Jesus; to be washed in his blood from all your guilt, to be clothed upon with the spot- less robe of his righteousness, to bo sanctified by his Spirit, to be governed by his Word, and to be guided by his wisdom ? With the Apostle Paul, this " Christ and him crucified" was the constant, and to himself, the delightful theme of all our departed father's ministrations ; because he knew, from his own experience, and we trust that a number of you know from your expe- 228 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. rience also, that this theme, and this theme alone, is, in the hand of the Divine Spirit, the power of God, and the wisdom of God to the salvation of sinners. How jejune and empty and profitless aro the abstruse speculations and metaphysical disquisitions of many of our published sermons in the present day, when compared with this apostolical theme, which ran and shone like a golden thread, in all the pulpit exhibitions of our departed father and friend, as all who have ever heard him can testify. The one is what the Apostle calls " philosophy falsely so called :" the other is the true philosophy sent down from Heaven, recorded in God's own book, and embo- died in this heavenly theme, for the purpose of saving perishing sinners. The one is called by the Apostlo James, " the wisdom that is earthly, sensual, and devilish;" or of human invention; calculated to please the blinded mind and depraveu heart of man ; and the invention of the father of lies and of error. But the other came down "from above," and " is pure, peace- able, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercies and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy." And yet it was not merely to instruct the ignorant in the knowledge of the plan of redemption, through a crucified Christ, that he dwelt so much and so often on this, to him, delightful theme. He had another highly important object in view, to bring it to operate with its designed power and sanctifying influence on the heart. He knew he taught that man was at the samo time a guilty and morally defiled creature, and that " without holiness no man can see the Lord." And he knew that nothing but the doctrines of the cross are in themselves calculated, and by God blessed, to subdue the proud heart of man to the obedience of faith, and to produce that repentance unto life, not to be repented of. Hence, then, as you can all testify, ho inculcated, more or less, in every sermon, the indispensable necessity of experimental religion ; or, as Christ expressed it, in his conference with Nicodemus, that unless a man is born again, or from above, he cannot see, he cannot enter the kingdom of glory hereafter. And in this, as well as for awakening the careless, thoughtless sinner to a sense of his danger, his sermons equaled, if not exceeded any I have ever read or heard on these subjects. You all remember how particular, close, clear, pungent and various were the questions for self-examination which he pressod upon you in every sermon on this highly important point. And hero I would remark what I think many of you must have remarked, that scarcely a head of his discourses was dismissed without a particular application of the doc- trine contained in that head to the hearts and consciences of his hearers. In this he had a peculiar talent and happy facility — that while the under- standing of the hearer was admiring the wisdom, the mercy and the grace of God, in devising and executing the plan of redemption through a cruci- fied Christ, he was constrained to ask himself, "am I in Christ and inter- ested in this gracious and glorious plan ? or am I yet in my sins ; in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity 1" Under the divine blessing this, to myself, has, in a great measure, accounted for his great euocesa in winning BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RALSTON. 229 souls to Christ; for it is God's plan of redemption, and tho way lie requires that plan to be exhibited to sinners, that God blesses and ever -will bless. And yet there is another and very important part of ministerial duty ; in the discharge of which I have often admired the tact and talent of our departed father and friend, as much as in these which I have mentioned. This, in theological language, is termed casuistry ; and consists in pointing out tho specific difference between real and counterfeit graces, if graces the latter may be called, and also in pouring the balm of divine consolation into the perplexed and distressed heart. Experimentally acquainted himself with tho devices of Satan, and with the influence which remaining corrup- tion, in the hearts of God's people, has, in weakening then - faith, lessening their lovo, and repressing then- hope, he unraveled with a skillful hand all tho snares and stratagems of the wicked one ; held out in such captivating colors the many precious promises of needed grace, to all Christ's humble but fainting followers, as dispolled their doubts, strengthened their faith, expanded their love, and reanimated their hopo, and disposed them to forgot the things that are behind, to reach forth to those that are beforo, and in borrowed strength to press forward toward tho mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, the Lord. Frequently have I observed, under his preaching, many of tho children of God hanging their hoads like a bul- rush ; and if they lifted up their faces, they wero covered with clouds and mental distress: but no sooner did he address himself to this delightful part of his public ministrations — no sooner did he begin to exhibit the grace of Christ in its exuberant riches, unbounded fullness, and unlimited freeness, than the accumulated clouds began to scatter before the rays of the sun of righteousness arising upon them with healing in his wings ; and I thought I saw the resolution of Paul, when in similar circumstances, written on their countenances : " I will glory in my infirmities, that tho power of Christ may rest upon mo." Such was our departed father, as a man of God and minis- ter of Christ, in handling the word of God, for doctrine, for reproof, for cor- rection, and instruction in righteousness. And now, when we consider his soundness in the faith, and well-earned influence in this part of our Western Israel, on the church, when we consider that the enemy of truth and of righteousness is pouring a flood of error into our church, with a new set of means of grace, or "measures," as they call them, suited to these errors; and although we have reason to bless God that there aro more than seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal, or adopted those errors with their corresponding measures, yet when we consider how great the loss of such a man is at such a period, have we not considerable reason to bewail it in the language of our text, and say, " Our father, our father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof?" 2d. There is another point of light in which our departed father should be viewed, both to do full justice to his character, and that it may be profit- 20 230 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. able for our imitation. All good men, as good men, aro necessarily possessed of a spirit of philanthropy, or a desire to do good unto others. And where they have been blessed with a liberal education, there is nothing which they desire more than to communicate its advantages to others. They know well that civil liberty, although obtained at a large expense of treasure and of blood, as was our own, can never be stable, nor perpetuated, but by tho diffu- sion of useful knowlodgo among the people. Hence, then, they have ever been tho supporters of schools and colleges, while domagoguos and disor- ganizes discourage them, as far as they can do so, with safety to their own interests. Good men also know that as knowledge is indispensably necessary for thr health and prosperity of tho Stato, it is still more so for the health and welfare of the Church j while literature is cried down by orrorists and heretics, that have, in every age, marred the beauty of the daughter of Zion. Now thero are names enrolled in the different Encyclopedias, as benofactors of mankind, and patrons of useful arts and sciences, who, in their sphore, have not done as much for tho support of useful literature as our lamented father has done. When ho first camo to this country, it was an awful moral waste. Tho country was filling up rapidly, and the settlements extending on every side. But himself and two others excepted, there were none to preach the everlasting gospel to them — the only means of salvation, and tho only offectual barrier against the prevalency of vice and immorality. Well knowing that an ignorant ministry is as apt to do as much ovil as good : "for if the blind load tho blind they must both fall into tho ditch" — he did all that could be done. Ho built a small log house near his own ; and as few men wore better judges of others than he was, he thero collected such men as Porter, Marquis, and M'Cready, whom some of you knew ; and gratui- tously instructed them so as to bo usefnl in the ministry. And few were more useful in their day. And that little log academy was the germ of all the Academies and Colleges that adorn and fructify our country at present with tho streams of science and useful literature. When tho increasing demands of the church roquired an enlargement of this useful little academy, it was transferred to Canonsburg, then a young and rising village.* Through * It appears that Dr. Ralston, in several particulars, has given an account respect- ing the Log-Cabin School, and its transfer to Canonsburg, in harmony with tho current popular traditions about the whole matter. It will be remembered that Dr. Ralston came out to Western Pennsylvania in 1795, and could not have known personally anything about the movements of Messrs. Dodd and Smith, ten or twelve years before that time. It will not be forgotten also that he was not personally cognizant of what transpired in 1790 and 1791. The statements of Messrs. Robert Patterson and Darby, and the language of Dr. M'Millan himself, as quoted in " Old Redstone" and in the " History of Jefferson College," are slightly at variance with some of the above state- ments of Dr. Ralston. But we do not regard these statements as essentially dero- gating, in the least degree, from the just claims of honor and praise hero given to Dr M'Millan.— J. S. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. RALSTON. 231 tho influence of our lamented father, a house was erected suitable to the existing doinands, teachers provided, among whom was the late amiable, modest, scientific, pious and lamented Professor Miller, and a charter of incorporation obtained from the Legislature of the State. I had then the honor of becoming connected with it as a Trustoo ; and well do I remember tho difficulties with which we had to struggle in keeping it in operation. The greatest number of students were pious but not wealthy young men, and consequently unable to contribute that remuneration for their tuition that was necessary for the support of the professors. And here I should not omit to mention wha.t may not be known to many here, or to the public at large, but is known to myself, and some who hear mo, that our lamented father, whoso liberality and philanthropy knew no bounds, when the inter- ests of literature and of the church wore concerned, for many years gave ten pounds yearly, out of a salary of one hundred pounds, Pennsylvania currency, for the support of the Academy. And there is no doubt but that he considered himself more than repaid, from the consideration and fact that in that Academy were taught most, if not all, those who have planted the churches boyond the Allegheny and Ohio rivers. In process of time, from causes not necessary to mention here, that Academy, then changed into a College by an act of the Legislature, suffered not only a great depression, but its very existence was jeopardized. Although I knew that it had been a child of prayer, and although I knew that many a fervent prayer for its success and stability were sent up daily from tho family altars of the faith- ful around, yet I confess that my own faith for its continued existence failed ; and I once thought that I saw it draw its last gasp. But not so was it with tho faith of our deceased father. It was like that of Abraham when required to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, unflinching and unfailing; and he, like that distinguished Patriarch, " hoped even against hope." To continue its existence, a new and extensive College must be erected; and there was not a dollar in the treasury of the Trustees. At tho suggestion of our father, a statement of our wants and an appeal was made to a generous public. It was not made in vain ; and such generous donations flowed into our treasury from all quarters, as justified the Trustees to commence building a second College edifice. And I need scarcely say that tho extensive influence of our father, and the veneration in which he was held abroad, had no small influence in procuring those donations. Tho foundation of the second build- ing was laid deep and solid by our docoasod father, by a forvent prayer of faith, and which, like every prayer of faith, is enrolled in the Archives of Heaven. Should Jefferson College, in the lapse of time, be brought to tho same state of depression in which we have seen it, I think that thero is neither fanaticism nor presumption in believing and saying, that the preva- lency of that heaven-recorded prayer will prove the means of its resuscitation. Tho public donations for the erection of the second College edifice, though generous boyond expectation, were not sufficient to complete it, on account 232 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. of its sizo and extensiveness; and a second appeal to the public was not judged prudent or expedient. In this dilemma, the public spirit and gene- rosity of our venerated father, with that of the late Craig Ritchie, Esq., of Canonsburg, were brought into action and came to our aid. Each of them advanced some hundreds of dollars ,• nor were their purses shut until the building was completed, and fitted for the reception of the students. And not only so, but both of them spent a considerable portion of their time in providing materials and superintending the work during its progress. These acts of generosity and public spirit are, perhaps, not known to many here; but are known to myself and to the Trustees of the College, some of whom are now under my eye. True, they were repaid the money which they advanced, after somo years, out of a donation given to the College by the Legislature of the State ; but it is as truo that the prospect of their being repaid, when they advanced the money, was very doubtful. For the Legislature were not in the giving mood to colleges at that time, nor for some years after. We have already observed that the Prophets of old were preachers of truth and righteousness, as well as predictors of future events. We are told that there were schools of the prophets in the days of the prophet Samuel, where the principles of the true religion were taught. We are also told that there were sons of the prophets, in the days of Elijah, and it is to be pre- sumed that there were schools where they were taught; and that Elijah was a distinguished patron and supporter of those schools ; and we think it a rational and fair inference that a consideration of the loss which those schools would sustain, by the removal of Elijah to Heaven, entered into and formed a principal element of Elisha's exclamation, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!" And now, when we reflect upon the many hundreds of men who have been educated in Jefferson Col- loge — that many of them have filled, and are now filling respectable and useful stations in the departments of law and medicine — when we also reflect upon tho numbers who have gone forth from it, as preachers of Christ and of righteousness; (some of whom are respectable presidents of other col- leges, and some are gone as missionaries of the cross, to announce pardon and peace through a crucified Christ — that delightful theme of our lamented father's ministrations — to those who aro lying in the thickest shades of mental and moral darkness in Africa, in Hindostan, and in our own land,) — and when we reflect that our departed father was its solo founder, that he watched over its interests with paternal care for half a century — that he spent much of his precious timo in promoting its interests — and that his purse was always open for the supply of its manifold wants — that next to the Church of Christ, it was tho dearest object of his solicitude and supplications at a throno of grace — as I know from many conversations with him on the subject; and that the primary dosign of erecting Jefferson College, was to train young men for the gospel ministry — when, I say, we reflect upon theso things, would it be a pervorsion of our text to substitute Jefl'orson Collego for Israel, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RALSTON. 233 and say, " Our father, our father, the chariot of Jefferson College, and the horsemen thereof." I risk nothing, nor will I offend a single individual of my brethren in the ministry, when I say that, for soundness in the faith, for unwavering love of the truth as it is in Jesus, and for opposition to the errors and innovations that have crept into our church — for an ardent love for the salvation of souls, and unwearied labors and endeavors in the support of literature, as the handmaid of true religion, our father has not left a superior, if an equal, behind him, in the Synod of Pittsburgh, perhaps in the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. Oh! when shall our church be blessed with another Dr. John M'Millan ! But he has rested from his labors, and his works have followed him, as evidences of his love to Christ, and untiring labors amidst infirmities and the waste of old age, in promoting the interests of true and undefiled religion. And now, how shall we, whom he hath left behind, in this land of sorrows and valley of tears, profit by this afflicting dispensation of Providence? By being followers of him wherein he followed, Christ. And those of us to whom the ministration of the gospel is committed, ought to improve this dispensation, by maintaining, like him, an unwavering love of the truth, as embodied in the standards of our church, whatever opposition we meet with in so doing; or whatever contempt may be thrown upon us by those who have swerved from the truth, or who are indifferent to the true interests of our church. Not many months ago, in this place, he raised his warning voice, and we might almost say his dying voice, to the watchmen on Zion's walls, directing them to the enemy, who has been coining in like a flood, and pointing out their duty in opposing that enemy of Christ, of truth, and of righteousness. Let us, then, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, set our faces as flints against this enenry ; and in reliance on tho Divine Spirit, endeavor to keep the standard of Christ floating on the walls of our Zion, should we even perish in the attempt. Let us also, like him, bo instant in season and out of season, in preaching Christ and him crucified, and in reproving, rebuking and exhort- ing, with all long-suffering and doctrine : and, like him, we will obtain a crown of life ! 20* BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH REV. MATTHEW HENDERSON, First Pastor of the Associate congregation of Chartiers, Washington county, Pa., and one of tho throe ministers who united in the ceremony of inaugurating the Canonsburg Academy, in 1791, under the Sassafras bushes. [Abridged from the "Evangelical Repository."] The Rev. Matthew Henderson was one of the earliest mis- sionaries of the Associate Church of Scotland to the United States, and was the pioneer of that church in what was then regarded as the western wilderness, embracing the western part of Pennsylvania and the unknown region beyond. As no- account of his life has hitherto been written, and the few survivors who have any recollection of him were but children at the time of his decease, and are now far down in the vale of years, it is difficult to obtain a sketch of his life and char- acter which will be either full or satisfactory. The following particulars have been gleaned partly from incidental notices of him in various publications, and partly from the recollec- tions of some aged survivors of his family. Mr. Henderson was born in Scotland, in the year 1735. His children suppose that his birth-place was Glasgow, and that his classical education was obtained at Edinburgh. He entered at a very early period of life upon the study of the- ology, under the Rev. Alexander Moncrieff, one of the four first Seceders; a man whose own theological course had been pursued under the celebrated John Mark, of Leyclen, and (234) BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF REV. M. HENDERSON. 235 who was himself eminent in his day for learning, piety, cour- age, and generosity. Mr. Moncrieff was called the lion among the fathers of the Secession; and his pupil, Mr. Henderson, appears in this respect to have imbibed the spirit of his pre- ceptor. He was licensed at the early age of twenty-one, a thing very uncommon in Scotland, where the course of train- ing both for mechanical and professional business is much more tedious, and, at least intended to be, much more thorough than with us. He was ordained two years afterwards, in the summer of 1758, by the Presbytery of Perth and Dunfermline, and was immediately sent across the Atlantic to strengthen the hands of the brethren who were laboring in Pennsylva- nia. He was the third permanent missionary sent by the Associate Church to these then British colonies ; his prede- cessors being Messrs. Alexander Gellatly and James Proudfit. Mr. Andrew Arnot, of Midholm, was sent with Mr. Cellatly, but not obligated to remain except for one year, and accord- ingly, at the expiration of that time, returned to Scotland. Mr. Henderson's acceptance of this missionary appointment speaks highly in favor of his zeal and self-denial in the cause of Christ. At this time a missionary appointment to the wilds of America was regarded as nearly equivalent to a ban- ishment to Botany Bay. It was with the utmost difficulty that one or two out of a large number appointed could be prevailed on to accept of such a mission. The most rigorous measures were frequently employed, and even deposition from the ministry threatened, yet all in vain. There is, however, no account of any reluctance on the part of Mr. Henderson, or any resort to coercive measures. He appears to have been willing for the work assigned him, and to have possessed the adventurous, fearless, and hardy spirit which fitted him so peculiarly for a pioneer of the gospel in the wilderness. — [M'Kerrow's History of the Secession, pp. 259, 274.] Soon after his arrival in America, Mr. Henderson was set- tled at Oxford, Chester county, Pennsylvania, where he appears 236 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. to have labored in the ministry for about twenty years. It is not improbable that he had the pastoral care of at least one other place ; as several of his sermons written at this time are marked as preached at " Pen," but what place is intended by this contraction it is difficult to ascertain. About three years after his arrival, the Rev. Alexander G-ellatly, the father of the Secession in the United States, died, in the forty-sec- ond year of his age, having exercised his ministry eight years in Middle Octorara, Lancaster county, not far from Oxford.* By this event, which took place in 1761, Mr. Henderson is said by Dr. M'Kerrow to have been left with only two asso- ciates in the ministry — Mr. James Proudfit, of Pequa, and Mr. Mason, father of the late Dr. John Mason, of New York. It is, however, probable, that about this time Mr. Annan had also arrived, and Mr. Smart, though the latter only remained for a short time in this country. These at this time consti- tuted the Presbytery of Pennsylvania, the only court of the Associate Church in the United States. Mr. Henderson appears to have continued in the pastoral charge of Oxford till the year 1781. During this time he was married to Miss Mary Faris, and became the father of several children. His name appears up till about this time in the minutes of the Presbytery, and of meetings held with a view to the union of the Associate and Reformed Presby- * The Rev. J. P. Miller, in his " Sketches and Sermons," has fallen into some mistakes respecting Mr. Gellatly. He says that his arrival in the United States was in 1754, whereas it was in 1753. He mentions correctly that he died in 1761 ; but adds — "A little less than five years after his arri- val," whereas, according to his own statements, it must have been seven. It was in reality eight. Mr. Miller is also mistaken in saying that Mr. Arnot's mission was for two years. It was only for one. He speaks of the mission of Messrs. Henderson and Mason as having been at the same time, and of Mr. Smart's as near the same time. Mr. Henderson was sent in 1758 ; and three years afterwards, (1761,) Messrs. John Mason, Robert Annan, and John Smart. [See Sketches, &c, pp. 11-14 J compare M'Korrow's History, pp. 259, 274.] BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP REV. M. HENDERSON. 237 teries. In the measures adopted to effect this union, he took a decided part with Messrs. Marshall and Clarkson against what he considered the loose and ambiguous terms in which the union was at last consummated ; and it is not unlikely that had he been present when the union was effected, he would have joined with these brethren in refusing to accede to it. But he had in the mean time been removed to a great distance, where he had not full opportunity of knowing the true state of things, and he and his people for a time acceded to the union. This union took place in 1782 ; and in 1789, having become dissatisfied with the newly-organized church, he made application to his former brethren of the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania, acknowledging his sin in having withdrawn from their fellowship, and was restored. The pro- ceedings of the Presbytery on this occasion were published, together with a letter to Mr. Henderson, and another to the congregations of Chartiers, Mingo Creek, and Mill Creek. These proceedings evince a candid and ingenuous spirit on the part of Mr. Henderson, and a spirit of tenderness and faith- fulness on the part of his brethren. This pamphlet of eight pages was republished in 1836, with some prefatory remarks by the Bev. J. P. Miller, in the Religious Monitor, vol. xiii., pp. 209-13. Mr. Henderson was at this time pastor of the Associate congregations of Chartiers and Buffalo, Washington county, Pennsylvania. To these places he had removed, in compliance with a call in the year 1782. These places he had visited as early as 1779. In a manuscript volume of his sermons he marks some as preached at Chartiers and Buffalo, in April and May of that year. It appears, however, that on his way to the West with his family, the reports of disturbances caused by the Indians were so alarming that he left his family by the way at Canigocheague, and proceeded alone to his new charge. The family remained about a year at Canigocheague, and then followed him to Chartiers. Their situation, when 238 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. left behind, was far from comfortable, as tbey bad no better habitation than a rude cabin, or kind of shanty; nor was their situation greatly improved when they reached their jour- ney's end. But the hardships of pioneer life are so well known that it is not necessary to reiterate the many descrip- tions given of them. Perhaps, however, in Western Penn- sylvania these hardships were greater than in most other places. This region is separated from the Atlantic coast by vast ranges of mountains' intersecting the country for upwards of a hundred miles. Salt, iron, and all kinds of merchandise had to be transported over these rugged mountains upon pack horses all the way from Chambersburg to Pittsburgh. There was at this time no railroad, canal, turnpike, or even carriage road, making but a rough and often precipitous path for horses. The products of the land were abundant, but there could hardly be said to be any market for the surplus. Money was of course exceedingly scarce, luxuries were out of the question, and even some of the necessaries of life only to be obtained with the greatest difficulty. The settlement of Mr. Henderson in Chartiers took place in the year 1782, and for some years he was the only minister of the Associate Church west of the mountains. In consecpuence of this, he had not only the care of his own widely-scattered flock, but of several vacancies in his neighborhood. Among these were Mingo and Mill Creek, to which congregations, as we have seen, letters were addressed by the Presbytery at the time of his restoration to their fellowship. His life was evidently one of much labor, as well as hard- ship. He appears from some of his papers preserved by his children to have written his sermons regularly, though not altogether in full, and in a hand not easily legible. The inscription on his tombstone bears witness that he never for once disappointed his people on the Sabbath. He attended diligently to the duties of catechising and visiting from house to house. And as he abounded in labors, so an evident bless- BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF REV. M. HENDERSON. 239 ing attended his ministry. Mr. Daniel Houston, who took a very conspicuous part with Messrs. Marshall and Clarkson in opposition to the afore-mentioned union, received his first reli- gious impressions under the preaching of Mr. Henderson when assisting Mr. Smith at the dispensation of the Supper. No doubt the case was the same with many others. The Presbytery, in receiving him back to fellowship, bear honor- able testimony to the fruits of his ministry from the very commencement of his labors. They say : — " As your minis- try was not without acceptance and usefulness at the time of your entering into the public service of the gospel, we pray God that it may be made more so now when the evening of your day draws nigh." [Proceedings, &c, pp. 5, 6.] Mr. Marshall, in defending him from an attack made upon his character by the Rev. Robert Annan, in consequence of his having withdrawn from the communion of the Associate Reformed Synod, observes : — " It might have been expected that Mr. Henderson's gray hairs in the service of Christ, his usefulness in the ministry, and his weakly and infirm state of health, would have gained better treatment than Mr. Annan has given him." Mr. Marshall proceeds to quote from letters, Mr. Henderson's answer to the charges made against him, and closes with Mr. Henderson's expression of his confi- dence — " That after all Mr. Annan's bluster, he hopes his character stands as fair in the eyes of the Christian world as Mr. Annan's." Such, too, was the general reputation of Mr. Henderson, that Mr. Annan's abuse of him was reprobated by his own brethren, notwithstanding his having withdrawn from their communion. [Marshall's Vindication, pp. 89, 90,] The generation which enjoyed his ministrations has chiefly passsed away ; but the continued flourishing state of the con- gregations in which he finished his labors has no doubt been owing, in a great measure, to the character which his ministry had impressed upon them. Mr. Henderson's voice was remarkable for distinctness and 240 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. power. In the summer season he usually preached in a tent at the foot of a hill now occupied ap the grave-yard of the congregation of Chartiers. The place of the tent was near the grave of the late Jonathan Lethcrman, M. D. From the bottom to the top of the hill is about forty perches ; and yet not only the sound of his voice, but his words, could all be heard distinctly at that distance. Neither in conversation nor in the pulpit, did he make any attempt to lay aside the broad vernacular of his country. His manner of addressing his people was also according to the custom of his country, plain and familiar. He called them all simply by their proper names, like a father addressing his children. His reproofs of vanity and ill-behavior, especially in the sanctuary, were sometimes exceedingly pointed and scathing, but not ill-temp- ered. It has been related, that on one occasion, when a young lady had made her appearance at the church in a new calico dress, which in those days was regarded as the height of female extravagance, and when she had frequently risen from her seat, and gone to different parts of the assembly, Mr. Henderson having noticed her movements, and observed her rising from her seat a fourth time, said to her very calmly — " That is the fourth time, my lass, that you have left your seat. You can sit down now, we have a' seen your braw new gown." The young lady, of course, did not wait for a second invitation to do as she was directed. In appearance, Mr. Henderson was of a very swarthy com- plexion. He had very keen dark eyes, was of a large size, of an erect and majestic figure, and possessed uncommon mus- cular power. An anecdote has been related of him, and sometimes erroneously attributed to others, which illustrated his physical powers, and also the treatment to which even ministers of the gospel were exposed in those early times. On one occasion, when traveling over the mountains to meet with his brethren in Presbytery, he happened to lodge at a tavern where two men took the liberty of treating him with BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP REV. M. HENDERSON. 241 great rudeness. This he endured for some time with much patience. His patience, however, was mistaken for timidity, and only encouraged their impertinence, till at last nothing would do but he must fight. This, of course, he was disposed to decline ; but, whether he would or not, they were deter- mined upon an assault. Finding that he could not otherwise evade rough usage, he arose and deliberately stripping off his black coat, laid it aside, saying — " Lie there, the Rev. Mr. Henderson, and now Matthew defend yourself." So saying, he seized one of the ruffians, dashed him out through an open window, and was preparing to send the other by the same road to keep him company. But this one, seeing the kind of man they had to deal with, was in no hurry to put himself in the way of such rough usage. Mr. Henderson having thus taught them somewhat after the manner of Gideon's teaching the men of Succoth with the thorns and briars of the wilder- ness, passed the rest of the night in peace and quietness. Another anecdote of a different character has frequently, though not correctly, been related of him. It has been said that he was very fond of tea ; and, as it was seldom to be met with among the early settlers of the country, that he was accustomed to carry a paper of it with him in his travels. On one occasion, having brought it forth to be prepared by the lady of the house, when he sat down at the table, not seeing anything like his favorite beverage, he inquired what had been done with it. The lady directed his attention to a plate having the appearance of greens, nicely buttered and peppered. This was his dish of tea. " madam," said he, " what have you done with the broth?" " Why," said she, " I threw that away." The individual whose tea was cooked for him in this manner was not, however, Mr. Henderson, but the Rev. Mr. Howlitson, an intimate friend of his who was of feeble health, and died in his youth. No mention is made of such a person in the account of the missions of the Asso- 21 242 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. ciate Church in America. It is probable that he came to this country without any appointment ; and little more is known of him than that he lies beside Mr. Henderson, but with no stone to mark the place of his grave. Mr. Henderson was of a peculiarly affectionate disposition towards his family, and in all his intercourse with society. His numerous and scattered charge rendered it necessary for him to be often absent from home, and frequently for a week or more at a time. But he would surmount almost any diffi- culty rather than cause uneasiness to his family by an absence beyond the appointed time. He expected a like punctuality on their part ; and if the return of any absent member were delayed, would ride a journey of ten miles or more to ascer- tain whether any accident had happened. The day before his death he had been disappointed by the continued absence of Mrs. Henderson and two of his daughters, who had been detained while on a visit to some friends at a distance. His daughter Elizabeth, however, returned during the day. He appeared to be much gratified at meeting her ; and having walked out with her to the place where he was killed the next morning, he gave her repeated charges, in case of his death, to be kind to her mother. This, and some other occur- rences, seemed almost to indicate a presentiment that his end was at hand. At the age of sixty he had become somewhat infirm, but not to such a degree as to interfere with his labors. His infirmities were no doubt occasioned by the hardships to which he had been exposed, and from which he took but little pains to protect himself. An aged member of the church,* who heard him once in his youth preaching in a tent without any covering during a shower, recollects that when some one was so kind as to hold an umbrella over his head, he repectfully * Mr. James Thorn, of Pigeon Creek. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP REV. M. HENDERSON. 243 declined the proffered favor, and proceeded in the services regardless of the rain. But, though feaidess of other evils, he had been much troubled with the fear of death, — not so much with the fear of leaving the world, as of the pains of dying ; and it pleased a kind Providence, in taking him away, to exempt him from the evil which he so much feared. He was killed by the falling of a tree, upon the 2d of October, 1795, at the age of sixty, and in the thirty-seventh year of his ministry, reckoning from the time of his ordination. The circumstancesof his death, as related by the daughter who was with him at the time, are as follows : — On the even- ing of October 1st, he had expressed to his children a wish that they would fell a bee-tree which had been discovered on his farm, and preparations were accordingly made to proceed to it early in the morning. He had acquainted his daughter Elizabeth, then a child of ten years of age, with their pur- pose, and told her that if she could get up in the morning without awakening her younger sister Jane, she might go with him. Accordingly, the next morning he went quietly to her bed, and touched her gently to awake her without dis- turbing her sister. She was soon up ; and having dressed herself for the expedition, hurried into her father's room, supposing him also to be ready. She found him on his knees engaged in secret prayer, and immediately withdrew. Soon after this she observed him going down to the spring with a basin and towel to wash himself, as was his custom in the morning. Some time after he had returned she again ven- tured into his room, and again found him engaged in prayer. Soon afterwards he came out, and taking her by the hand he led her to the place where his sons Ebenezer and Robert had been for some time engaged in felling the tree. The tree stood upon a bank, and it was supposed would fall down the side of it. Mr. Henderson and his daughter approached towards it on the higher ground, where it was thought there 244 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. was no danger. Here they stood for a little time, at some distance from the tree, awaiting its fall. It proved to be decayed in the centre, and fell much sooner than had been anticipated, and also in an opposite direction from what had been calculated. Mr. Henderson, notwithstanding repeated cautions given him, would always, when a tree began to fall, run from it in a direction opposite to that in which he supposed it to be falling. On this occasion, as usual, he ran, but in the same direction with the falling of the tree. His daughter followed his example, but varied somewhat in her course, and escaped any injury. Her father had run to such a distance that it was only the branches which reached him, and his body was but little mutilated. Only a slight flesh wound was discovered on his head ; yet he appeared to have died instantly, not having been observed to move or breathe by his sons, who were immediately beside him. Mr. Henderson, and some of his brethren of other societies who first planted the gospel in the West, were anxious to pro- mote the cause of literature in connection with religion, and from the first turned their attention to the establishment of literary institutions. The venerable Dr. M'Millan, who pre- ceded him in his settlement a few years, appears to have led the way, but he found Mr. Henderson an earnest and efficient coadjutor. As early as the year 1780,* a "Latin school," as it was called, was taught in a small log cabin, erected by the Rev. Dr. M'Millan for his stud)/. The teacher was Mr., after- wards the Hon. James Ross, of Pittsburgh. This log cabin, which may justly be considered the germ of Jefferson College, is still standing, and has been carefully preserved as a memo- rial of the past. Some years ago it was removed to a spot at a little distance from the original site, and its foundation * The writer has adopted this date from the prevailing popular, but, as we think, erroneous tradition. — J. S. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP REV. M. HENDERSON. 245 renovated, so that it is supposed it may yet last a century. The number of classical scholars having increased, it was judged necessary to fix upon a permanent place, and erect a more spacious and suitable building. Previous to this impor- tant measure there was a solemn meeting for consultation by the Rev. Dr. M'Millan, the Rev. Mr. Henderson, and other venerable fathers, who spent a great part of the day in prayer. Canonsburg, so called from Col. Canon, on whose ground the town had been built, was selected as the site ; and a tolerably comfortable stone building was soon erected, and ready to be occupied. The Canonsburg Academy was then organized, and respectable professors appointed in the various depart- ments of literature. The following account of the commence- ment of this institution is chiefly extracted from a letter written by one of the first pupils of the institution to the late Rev. Matthew Brown, D. D., LL. D., for many years Presi- dent of Jefferson College. In July, 1791, a meeting was called to see the Canonsburg Academy opened, the site of the institution having been agreed upon the day previous. At 10 o'clock, Tuesday morn- ing, many citizens were upon the ground to witness the open- ing of the first academy on the west side of the Allegheny mountains. Among them was the Rev. Matthew Henderson, of whom the writer gives the following account : — " Mr. Henderson was a Scotch Seceder clergyman, blessed with Scotch talents, Scotch education, Scotch theology, and Scotch piety. His memory is still highly cherished as a worthy con- temporary of Messrs. M'Millan and Smith. These three ministers, with Mr. Johnson, (the teacher,) and two pupils, William Riddle and Robert Patterson, (the writer of the letter,) took their position in the shade of some sassafras bushes growing in (the corner of) a worm fence near the English school-house, which could not be vacated for a short time. And here, under the pleasant shade of the green 21* 246 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. bushes, protected from the rays of a July sun, — the two pupils were about to commence their recitation, when Mr. M'Millan, addressing his two brethren, remarked in substance as follows : " This is an important day in our history, affecting deeply the interests of the church and country in the West, — affect- ing our own interests and welfare for time and eternity, — and the interests, it may be, of thousands and thousands yet unborn." Then turning to Mr. Henderson, he asked him to engage in prayer, seeking the blessing of v God on the insti- tution now to be opened. "And," continues the writer, "I must say, the broad vernacular pronunciation of the Scotch tongue never could be more delightful or impressive than it was while every thing proper to the occasion appeared to be remembered in prayer by this good man." The Academy having commenced under these circumstances, was incorporated as a college in 1802, and is the oldest insti- tution of the kind west of the mountains. Mr. Henderson was blessed with a numerous family — in all, fourteen children. Of these, four died in their infancy. Five sons and five daughters lived to maturity. Matthew, his oldest son, was licensed during the time of his father's connection with the Associate Reformed Church, and remained in that society, of which he was a very respectable minister. He was for many years pastor of a congregation in the Forks of Yough, and died a few years ago at an advanced age. Ebenezer, his third son, was a minister of the Associate Church. He was settled for a short time at Pittsburgh, in connection with a small congregation in the country. From this place he was called to Philadelphia, and was about to be removed. Pre- vious, however, to his settlement, he died at a public house while on a journey. He had given promise of much eminence in the ministry ; and his death was much and long lamented by the congregation whose call he had accepted, and by the whole church. Robert, the fourth son, still survives, and has for many years been an elder of very respectable standing in BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP REV. M. HENDERSON. 247 his father's congregation. John, the second, and Joseph, the fifth son, have been dead for many years. One or more of the descendants of the former are at this time ministers of the Associate Church. Mary, the oldest daughter, became the wife of Mr. White, a member of her father's congrega- tion. She died a few years ago, at a great age, leaving a numerous family of children, and children's children, to the third and fourth generation. Ellen, the second daughter, was married to the late Samuel Murdock, M. D., and died young, leaving but one child, Ellen, the wife of Joseph Tem- pleton, M. D., of Washington, Pennsylvania. Ann, the third daughter, was married to the Rev. Thomas Allison, of Mount Hope, Washington county, Pennsylvania. She also died a few years ago, leaving several children. Elizabeth, the fourth daughter, was married to Alexander Murdock, Esq., of Wash- ington, Pennsylvania. Jane, the youngest, was married to Mr. Clark, of Buffalo, Washington county, Pennsylvania. These last two both survive. The most of Mr. Henderson's children had numerous families ; and these again have increased till it would be difficult, or perhaps impossible, to reckon up the number of his descendants. They are mostly, if not all, with the exception of Ebenezer's family, dispersed through the various regions of the West, though probably the larger part are in the region of their father's labors. In this case we see verified the promise that the generation of the just shall be blessed. Very few have left so many children, and children's children, who have so generally done worthily, and held such a respectable standing both in civil and reli- gious society. Mr. Henderson was among the first buried in the grave- yard of Chartiers over whose remains a stone was erected. It has now for sixty years been exposed to the corroding tooth of time ; and the inscription will soon, if not renewed, become illegible. The following is a copy of it. The poetry is not unexceptionable, yet is pretty well for those early times : — 248 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. "In memory of the Rev. Matthew Henderson, who departed this life October 2, 1795, aged 60 years, and in the 37th of his ministry. "In heavenly toils, Henderson, grown gray, Thy earthly frame was hastening to decay. Thy growing languor threatened to detain Thee from thy loved employment, but in vain* For in thy course no Sabbath failed t' attest i The love of souls which burned within thy breast ; Till by one transient stroke which gave release, Thy Saviour bade thee enter into peace. Great and (most) happy change from battered dust Unto the glorious mansions of the just ! Let us prepare to measure that bright road, The best of all our friends is there — our God." T. B, As the writer of the above article had not access to the minutes of the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania, we have, at his request, given them a cursory examination, as the result of which we present the following additional facts. The name of the congregation over which Mr. Henderson was placed, in connection with Oxford, was Pencader, or Pen Calder. It is spelled both ways in the minutes. It seems to have been a place of little importance. We know not where it was located. It no longer exists as a congregation. The congregation of Oxford, however, still lives and nourishes. It was from this place that the first petition for preaching was sent to the Synod in Scotland, and we believe it is the place where the first Associate Presbyterian congregation in Amer- ica was organized. It has for a long time been under the charge of Rev. Wm. Easton, in connection with Octorara and Muddy Run ; but about two years ago he resigned that por- tion of his charge, and in February last it was placed under the care of Rev. J. H. Andrew, it present pastor. We find that Mr. Henderson was very punctual in his attendance on the meetings of Presbytery ; although in those days of magnificent distances and bad roads, this was no easy matter. Whoever was absent, the name of Mr. Henderson BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP REV. M. HENDERSON. 249 is at the commencement of the minutes of each meeting about as invariably as the date. The statement in regard to the ministers who composed the Presbytery in 1761, after the death of Mr. Gellatly, is correct. Mr. Annan was ordained by Mr. Henderson and Mr. Proud- foot, on the 8th of June, 1763. During all the time of Mr. Henderson's settlement in East- ern Pennsylvania, he, in common with his brethren, had to spend a great portion of his time away from home, traveling long, wearisome, and dangerous journeys, to supply the many places, in different parts of the country, which, at every meet- ing of Presbytery, were sending in urgent calls for divine ordinances. To give some idea of the state of things at that time, we give the following extract from a letter written by the Presbytery, in 1764, to the Synod in Scotland, asking for more missionaries : " We hereby, in the most earnest manner, supplicate this Reverend Synod for more assistance in the weighty work among our hands ; and if it be not sent us, the buddings of reformation work on this Continent of America will be in danger of being blasted, and the work mar altogether, and the constitutions of members of Presbytery worn out with the great fatigues they of necessity undergo, in watering, not only their own congregations, which are all divided into two, and some three parts, in this Province, but also are far dis- tanced from one another ; and this is not all ; for they must go much abroad, and preach, and dispense the sacraments, in vacant congregations. One minister, with a probationer, fre- quently dispenses the sacrament of the Supper in congrega- tions, sometimes two Sabbaths successively, in different places ; and sometimes a minister has done this without any assistance at all. This has been done twice this last summer by one member ; and two of our number have this year been in North Carolina, which is five hundred miles distant from this. So that our deplorable situation cannot miss to have a loud language in 250 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. the ears of our dear brethren, for to influence them to send us more supply of probationers, and that speedily." At the meeting of Presbytery at Oxford, November 17th, 1779, was read " a call for Mr. Henderson, and a petition containing reasons for the transportation, and craving his admission, from Chartiers and Buffalo." This call had been moderated at Chartiers, by Rev. John Murray, on the 18th of October. The members of session present at the modera- tion were James Scott, John White, Nicholas Little, and David Heed, of Chartiers, and John and James Brownlee, and Andrew Scott, of Buffalo. The result of the vote was for Mr. Henderson, thirty-four, and for Mr. Smith, then of Octorara, twenty-two. Seven of the latter signed the call. No action was taken in regard to it by the Presbytery, till their meeting at Muddy Creek, March 16th, 1780, when, in connection with this call and petition, was presented one from Oxford, containing answers to it, and praying for their minis- ter's continuance. The matter was considered for some time, both privately in committee of the whole, and afterwards pub- licly in the Presbytery in their judicative capacity, and " nothing of disaffection to Mr. Henderson, in Oxford Church, nor the want of a support appearing to the' Presbytery, they agreed to take the matter in this point of light, whether Mr. Henderson's continuance at Oxford, or his transportation to Chartiers, appears most for the ends of general edification in the church of Christ ? Hereupon a long course of reasoning ensued on this subject." After prayer "for direction in this weighty business," the question was put, transport or not ? On this the Presbytery was equally divided ; " whereupon the Moderator, (Mr. Henderson himself,) with great tender- ness, and assigning various reasons, gave his casting vote in favor of the transportation," &c. At the same meeting we find it recorded that " the Presbytery consider the relation between Mr. Henderson and the people in Chartiers and Buf- falo, to commence from this day, and that his salary also now commence; and that these people should be at the expense BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF REV. M. HENDERSON. 251 of removing him, his family, and effects thither ; and as they agreed to pay him one hundred pound hard money annually, or 400 bushels of wheat, the Presbytery agree he shall have it in his option to take either as it may best suit him," &c. Some difficulty, the nature of which cannot be clearly ascer- tained, seems to have existed between Mr. Henderson, his congregation, and the Presbytery, in regard to his transporta- tion. He seems to have been hurt at some things said on the floor of Presbytery in the course of the discussion in regard to his removal, in consequence of which he addressed a letter to the Presbytery (April 5th, 1781) which they char- acterize as " containing injurious reflections, &c. — with a vein of irony running through the whole/' &c. He afterwards, (September 6th,) made acknowledgments for the offensive things contained in the letter, and the whole matter was satis- factorily adjusted. Before Mr. Henderson's departure for the West, which took place in the latter part of the year 1781, several peti- tions were received from Canigocheague, desiring the Presby- tery to send him there. And at the meeting, October 31st, 1781, their petition being called up, the Presbytery, " after much reasoning on the subject, agree that Mr. Henderson be recommended to prosecute his call to Chartiers — that these people be addressed in a letter by Mr. Murray, to make suit- able provision for moving Mr. Henderson's family and effects thither in the spring, and remove every cause of just com- plaint of deficiency on their part — and that Mr. Henderson be appointed to supply some Sabbath at Canigocheague (pro- nounced Canigojig) before next meeting." From the circum- stance that he was absent from the next meeting, which took place April 10th, 1782, we conclude that he had, in the mean time, removed to the West, his departure having been thus delayed in consequence of the Indian war, which also ren- dered it necessary, as stated in the preceding sketch, that he should leave his family at Canigocheague, where they remained for a year. T. H. B, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE REV. JAMES RAMSEY, D. D A Trustee of Jefferson College, and Professor of Hebrew. BY REV. DR. THOMAS BEVERIDGE. [Abridged from the "Evangelical Repository, ,"] The Rev. James Ramsey, D. D., was born March 23d, 1771, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. His parents, Robert and Mary Ramsey, beloriged, at the time of his birth, to the Reformed Presbyterian Church, or Covenanters, and sustained throughout their lives a good reputation for intelli- gence and piety. Mr. Robert Ramsey, after his removal to the West, was for many years an elder of respectable stand- ing in the Associate congregation of King's Creek, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, under the pastoral care of the venerable Dr. John Anderson. Both parents lived to an advanced age, and had the satisfaction of seeing their children, and many of their children's children settled around them, and gener- ally following their footsteps in the ways of righteousness. James, the subject of this notice, was the first born of fifteen children, the larger number of whom he survived. About two years after his birth, his parents removed from Lancaster county to what was then known as the western wilderness, and resided about two years at Williamsport, on the Monon- gahela river. At this time (1773) the settlements in this (252) BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RAMSEY. 253 region were few and scattered. The Indians were frequently troublesome, and rendered the protection of forts necessary. Mr. Ramsey pursued his labors in the vicinity of one of these forts. His custom was to take his gun with him into the corn field, and place it at the root of a tree or against a stump. He would then hoe around the place to the distance of fifteen or twenty yards. This done, another resting place for his gun was selected, and his labor around it performed in the same manner ; thus keeping himself always ready for defence against any sudden attack. It was amidst these scenes of danger, and those of the revolution which immediately fol- lowed, and amidst the hardships and privations of a pioneer's life, that James first formed his acquaintance with the world ; and these things no doubt contributed in giving to him that patience, that power of endurance, and that energy of char- acter, for which he was afterwards distinguished. At the end of two years, the family removed from Wil- liamsport to Pigeon Creek, then within the bounds of the congregation of the venerable Dr. M'Millan, so distinguished in the history of the Presbyterian Church of the West, as one of its first and most eminent pioneers. With this church the parents connected themselves. Their son James was also admitted as a member at a very early period of life ; and though afterwards connected with another branch of the Pres- byterian Church, he always entertained a very great regard for his former brethren, and especially for Dr. M'Millan, whom he considered as his spiritual father. When Mr Ramsey became a member of Dr. M'Millan' s church, he must have been under twenty-one years of age, as this was his age when he removed to another part of the country. Yet young as he was, he exerted himself actively and faithfully in the cause of Christ, both in relation to the interests of truth and of practical godliness. Many of the young people were very careless as to spiritual things, and indulged freely in promiscuous dancing, and other practices 22 254 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. inconsistent with a religious profession. To promote a better spirit and put an end to these practices, he had the prudence and address to collect them into one or more societies for prayer and religious conference. In this way he exercised a happy influence upon the religious character of the congregation, and gave an early indication of that spirit which he manifested in his future life. During his connection with this congrega- tion, a controversy arose among the people, in relation to what have been called the Marrow doctrines, i. e. certain doctrines taught in a book called the Marrow of Modern Divinity ; such as that there is a gift or grant of Christ in the Gospel to sin- ners of mankind as such ; that believers are delivered from the law as a covenant of works ; and that holiness is not a federal means or condition of life. Mr. Ramsey and others of the congregation warmly advocated these doctrines. Dr. M'Millan at first appeared also to favor, but at last rather opposed them. This laid the foundation for Mr. Ramsey's ultimate separation from that church, and accounts for the zeal which he ever afterwards showed for these precious truths. According to the recollections of his nearest friends, it would however appear that he had not formally withdrawn from the communion of the Presbyterian Church till after his removal to Mill Creek. At the age of twenty-one he made a joint purchase of a farm, two miles from the village of Frankfort, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and removed to it with his brother William. This was within the bounds of the Presbyterian congregation of Mill Creek, and here, after some time, other circumstances occurred which issued in the change of his religious profes- sion. About this time there was in the Presbyterian churches of the West a very general substitution of hymns of human composition in the room of the Psalms, which had hitherto been employed in the worship of God. Mr. Ramsey endeav- ored for some time to reconcile himself to the use of these hymns, and, in his own language, had " tried to sing them." iilOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RAMSEY. 255 But this either was from the first, or soon came to be against his convictions of duty, and his conscience would not let him alone. However different the views of Christians may he on the merits of this question, none who knew him will have any doubt as to his conscientiousness in the decision to which he came to give the preference to the Psalms over all human productions. Indeed, few things in his life manifested more clearly the power of his convictions of duty, than the change which he felt constrained to make in his profession. He was at this time a young man somewhat ardent in his tempera- ment, and much more likely to be seduced by the love of novelty than those advanced in years, who so often become the slaves of prejudice and habit. Being an excellent singer, and passionately fond of music, (which he occasionally taught,) he was the more liable to be captivated by the improvements in singing with which the introduction of the hymns was accompanied. But most of all, he was of a peculiarly affec- tionate disposition, and was in high esteem among the breth- ren with whom he was connected. Although a youth, and remarkable for modesty and diffidence, he had been taken into the society of ministers, elders, and such as were in the high- est reputation for piety. He was treated by them as an equal, and enjoyed their confidence. He was accustomed to speak of the change of his religious profession under these circum- stances as one of the sorest trials of his life ; and has frankly owned to his intimate friends that when he left the Presbyte- rian Church he left his heart behind him. He always regarded that Society as very exemplary in their affectionate treatment of each other, and thought them, in this respect, commendable beyond many others, of whom equal, if not better things, might have been expected. As a proof of the high esteem in which Mr. Ramsey was held among his Presbyterian breth- ren may be mentioned the language employed by Dr. M'Millan to induce him to remain in their communion : " James/' said 256 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. he, " you will be a minister some of these days ; yes, and you will be a bright star in the "West/' The account which he was accustomed to give of his sepa- ration from that branch of the Presbyterian Church with which he had been connected was substantially this. Various expedients had been employed to reconcile him and others to the introduction of the hymns ; such as employing them on more private occasions, and using them alternately with the Psalms in the public worship of the church. On the last sacramental occasion which he attended in that church the hymns were sung at tables occupied by those who preferred them, and the Psalms at one or more tables set for those who were opposed to the hymns. This, instead of satisfying, rather disgusted him, and he came to the resolution that he would use the hymns no more. During the occasion he lodged at the house of Mr. George M'Cullough, in company with a number of others, among whom were the Rev. Mr. Marquis and Mr. Jackson, an aged elder of the church. When the time for worship in the family arrived, Mr. Jackson was called upon to lead, and the Bible and hymn-book were laid down before him. Mr. Ramsey, who, as we have said, was extremely modest and diffident, was much perplexed. The elder was accustomed, when Mr. Ramsey was present, to call on him to lead in singing, and would no doubt do so now. But he had come to a fixed resolution that he would not use the hymns. Yet he was very unwilling to bring either himself or his scru- ples into notice before the company. He had watched with a keen eye and an anxious heart what was passing, and as soon as Mr. Jackson sat down at the table, he stepped up to him as quietly as possible, and whispered, that if he called on him to sing, he wished him to use the Psalms, as he did not feel at liberty to join in singing the hymns. However, the elder, much to the annoyance of the modest youth, spoke aloud of the difficulty, and observed that he believed there BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RAMSEY. 25? was no Bible with Psalms in the house. Mr. Ramsey imme- diately produced his own pocket Bible containing them, of which the elder made use. After worship, the Rev. Mr. Mar- quis observed that it was not a suitable time to enter into any controversy on the subject of the hymns. He would, how- ever, make one remark for Mr. Ramsey's consideration. "Very many," said he, "who have had scruples at the first about singing the hymns, after having used them for awhile have overcome their scruples, and become quite satisfied." Mr. Ramsey, however, could not feel at liberty to venture on such an experiment for obtaining relief. He soon afterwards united with the Associate congregations of Service and King's Creek, then and for many years afterwards under the pastoral care of Dr. Anderson, professor of theology in the Associate Church. His change of ecclesiastical connexion, as it origi- nated in no strife or ill temper, so it was attended with nothing of this kind. On the contrary, the most friendly feelings continued between him and his former associates. He was a man who could, both in his private life and public ministra- tions, be faithful to his convictions of duty without being ill tempered or censorious. At what period of his life his thoughts were turned towards the ministry is not known, but before his connection with the Associate Church, he had been preparing the way for obtain- ing an education with a view to that office. He had sold his interest in the farm on which he had lived with his brother, to his father, who afterwards removed to it, and resided on it till his death. He also engaged in teaching schools of differ- ent kinds ; and by these means obtained sufficient money to meet the expenses of his education, and had when licensed enough left to equip himself for traveling. It is thought probable that he commenced his classical studies under his minister, Dr. Anderson, about the twenty-fifth year of his age. He afterwards studied at the Jefferson Academy, since incorporated as Jefferson College. Soon after its incorpora- 22* 268 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. tion as a college, he received from this institution the second degree in the arts. This was in the year 1805 ; and some time about the year 1824, he received, probably from Dickin- son College, Carlisle, the honorary degree of doctor of divin- ity, a title which would be in higher repute if always as meritoriously conferred. After completing his classical stu- dies, he pursued the study of theology under Dr. John An- derson ; this must have been between the years 1800 and 1803. He was peculiarly beloved by his professor, and the warmest attachment continued between them, until the decease of Dr. Anderson, April, 1830. Dr. Ramsey was licensed by the Presbytery of Chartiers at the same time with the late Rev. David Imbrie, December 14th, 1803, at the house of Mr. Ralston, in Buffalo. As he was at this time within a few months of completing his thirty- third year, and his preparatory course of study had not been hurried, but as thorough as the circumstances of the country would well admit, he entered on his ministerial labors with more maturity of mind, with more enlarged Christian experience, and better preparation, than are common to those beginning this work, and his ministry from the first proved every where highly acceptable to the intelligent and godly. He labored, during the months of December and January after his licensure, in the Presbytery of Chartiers, and then for the greater part of the remainder of the year 1804 in the Presbyteries of Cambridge and Philadelphia. At the close of this year he returned to Chartiers, and labored in the bounds of that Presbytery till his settlement. A unanimous and pressing call was given to him to take charge of the Asso- ciate congregation of Cambridge, New York, then left vacant by the removal of Dr. Banks ; and the people, were exceed- ingly grieved at their failure to obtain him as their pastor. For years afterwards they were accustomed to lament their disappointment, and they continued to cherish his memory with peculiar fondness. Shortly before his return to the BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RAMSEY. 259 West, a petition from the congregation and Presbytery of Philadelphia, was laid before the Presbytery of Chartiers, earnestly soliciting that he might be continued in Philadel- phia till the next meeting of the Synod, which request, how- ever, the Presbytery, owing to the urgent demand upon them for supplies, found themselves unable to grant. At the meet- ing of this Presbytery, April 17th, 1805, four calls were pi'esented to him, or rather three, and notice given of a fourth ; one from the united congregations of Mount Pleasant and Burgettstown, one from Beaver and Brush Run, one from Cambridge, New York, and one from Chartiers. The last of these was accepted, although the worldly advantages connected with some of the other calls were much greater. He was ordained and settled as pastor of the Associate congregation of Chartiers on the fourth of the following September. The Bev. Thomas Allison preached on the occasion from 2 Cor. viii : 23, — " Our brethren — the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ." He also, as was the custom of the times, gave the charge to the pastor, elders, and members of the congregation. Dr. Anderson preached in the evening from Ps. cii : 16, — " When the Lord shall build up Zion he will appear in his glory." When Dr. Ramsey commenced his pastoral labors in this congregation, not only the people but the Presbytery were in a very distracted state in consequence of dissensions which had arisen in Chartiers between the people and their former pastor, the Rev. John Smith, and also between the people of Buffalo and their pastor, the Rev. Robert Laing. These troubles had occasioned frequent and protracted meetings of the Presbytery, and some stormy debates. At the very time that Dr. Ramsey was licensed, the Presbytery continued four days in session, and such protracted meetings were not uncom- mon. These contentions had divided the people into parties, and the issue was the separation of some valuable members from both congregations. These and other things had also con- 260 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. tributed to weaken, in those who remained, their attachment to their profession ; so that the commencement of the Doctor's labors was in the midst of difficulties. But his prudence and faithfulness soon surmounted them, and in a little time he was established in the affections and confidence of the people, to an extent altogether uncommon. The hearts of the minis- ter and people were so knit together that it seemed a thing impossible that they could ever be sundered. Soon after his settlement he was married to Miss Margaret Paxton, a lady in the neighborhood of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. They became the parents of two children, the Rev. James P. Ram- sey, pastor of the Associate congregation of Deer Creek, Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, and Maria, wife of the Rev. William M. M'Elwee, D. D., pastor of the Associate congre- gation of Frankfort, Beaver county, Pennsylvania. These, together with Mrs. Ramsey, still survive. After Dr. Ramsey's settlement he applied himself diligently to the duties of his pastoral office, not only preaching regu- larly upon the Sabbath, and occasionally on other days of the week, but catechizing and visiting from house to house, which latter duties he attended to in the winter, in order to interfere as little as possible with the worldly business of his people. This, considering the size of the congregation, the inclemency of the season, and the almost impassable condition of the roads during much of the winter, rendered these duties exceed- ingly laborious. But he was not one of those who much regarded exposures of this kind. If it ever occurred at all, it must have been very rarely, that he was seen with an umbrella over his head to protect him either from heat or rain. Even when quite aged, he would rise long before day, and set out upon a journey, in the coldest weather, and very often with- out even taking the precaution to button his overcoat. He was particularly faithful in visiting the sick, and had many calls of this kind to attend to among his own people and others. Until quite disqualified by age, he was very punctual BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. RAiMSEY. 261 in his attendance upon the meetings of his Presbytery, and of the Synod; and in these courts his zeal in the cause of truth, temper, d as it was by kindness, his readiness in form- ing a correct opinion upon the merits of questions, the clear- ness with which he was able to express himself, and his peculiar talent for exposing wrong doings, rendered him a most useful member. For more than forty years after his ordination, he never failed attending the meetings of Synod, whether near or remote, except once or at most twice, when providentially hindered. The last meeting he attended was at Allegheny, in 1852, and his infirmities at that time obliged him to return home before the close of the session. His salary was small, the journeys frequently tedious and expen- sive, but such was his interest in the cause of Christ, that he could not feel satisfied to neglect the meetings of the courts of his house, when it was at all practicable to attend. In the sixteenth year of his ministry he was called to a post of increased responsibility. In 1819, Dr. Anderson, owing to the infirmities of age, felt the necessity of resigning the professorship of theology, which he had held for about twenty-five years. His resignation being accepted, the Synod at their next meeting, at Huntingdon, 1820, agreed to estab- lish two seminaries, to be called the Eastern and Western. The Rev. John Banks, D. D., was unanimously elected pro- fessor of the Eastern Seminary, and the election of a professor of the Western was postponed till the next meeting at Pitts- burgh, when the western members would be more generally present. At this meeting, 1821, though another candidate was named beside him, Dr. Ramsey was elected by a large majority; and in the ensuing winter entered upon the duties of his new office, being at this time fifty years of age. This post, in connection with his pastoral duties in a large congre- gation, no part of which he remitted, rendered his subsequent life very laborious. To his other offices was added the pro- fessorship of Hebrew in Jefferson College, which however did 262 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. not occupy much of his time and attention. The Doctor at this time resided on a farm about a mile from Canonsburg, and read lectures to his students at his own house, and in consequence of his situation he was obliged to receive all or most of the students into his house as boarders. They had thus not only the advantage of his public instructions, but of his excellent example and instructive conversation in private, which was by no means inconsiderable. It is well known that his remarks in private, made in his own peculiar way, were highly entertaining and useful. In some instances they have been known to produce on the minds of young men impressions causing a happy change in their whole course of life. It was by one of these remarks, serious in import, but made in something of a jesting manner, that the late Rev. D. C. was cured of a tendency to excessive liberalism -in his religious views; and the cure proved to be thorough and per- manent. The conversation at the table among the young men, chiefly college students, had turned upon a late revival which had taken place at Baltimore. The Doctor, who had for some time been silent, at last inquired about the people who were the subjects of it. One of the young men, a Pres- byterian by profession, replied that he believed they were chiefly Methodists. " Oh !" said the Doctor, "I am glad to hear of a revival, and especially among the Methodists ', we know that some of their doctrines are erroneous, and no doubt, when a revival takes place among them, they will renounce their errors. I hope," added he, " they have all joined the Presbyterian Church." The young man, considerably con- fused, was obliged to admit that they had not. The Doctor pursued the conversation no further, but it at least led Mr. C. into a train of reflections which had an important influence upon his future course of life. The late Rev. Professor K. also attributed to Dr. Ramsey his first serious impressions. He had lived in the neglect of religion, and perhaps was some- what more than commonly careless about spiritual things, till, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RAMSEY. 263 while a student in the c. liege, he became a boarder in the Doctor's family. Hjre the example, prayers, and conversa- tion of the Doctor convinced him that there were a truth, power, and excellence in religion which he had not before perceive 1 As the number of the students increased, the boarding of so many became oppressive to Mrs. Ramsey, and the Doctor removed from his farm into Canonsburg. He also added to the house which he had purchased an apartment built at his own expense for the use of the students. Still a number of them continued to board with him, but his situation now freed him from the necessity of taking more than suited the con- venience of his family. After the death of Dr. Banks, in 1826, the Synod agreed, in 1828, to unite the two theological seminaries ; in 1830 they fixed upon Canonsburg as the place, and the next year elected Dr. Ramsey professor in the united institution. At this time the Synod engaged in the erection of a suitable building for the seminary, which was completed about the year 1834. The site selected was a beautiful one, on a level tract of ground half a mile west of the village. The building was sufficiently large and substantial, but not well arranged, nor constructed with good taste. Soon after this the congregation found it necessary to erect a new church, instead of the old and delapidated stone building which had been occupied for about fifty years by the Doctor and his pre- decessors. This new church the Doctor and his congregation entered in the beginning of the year 1836. Some years before this the Synod agreed to establish a second professorship, which however was not actually filled till the winter of this year. As this professorship embraced branches of study not taught by the Doctor, it did not materially lessen his labors, he continued to attend to the duties of his professorship till the meeting of the Synod at Washington, 1841, when he gave notice of his intention to resign. This was in confor- mity with a resolution adopted by him long before. Having 264 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE noticed that public men, when far advanced in years, and failed both in body and mind, would often cling with childish fondness to an office for which they had become totally unfit, he had formed and often expressed his resolution, that if he were spared in life, and retained in office till the age of sev- enty, he would then resign. He had made a kind of cove- nant with himself to pay no regard to his opinion on this subject at seventy, but to act according to his previous judg- ment and resolution. There was indeed no perceptible failure of his mind at this time, and but little for years afterwards. To the very close of his life, with occasional exceptions, caused by bodily debility, he retained in an uncommon degree his judgment, his memory, and the life and energy of his earlier years. Yet he considered it best to adhere to his resolution, and agreeably to the notice given at Washington, he presented the resignation of his office to the Synod at Xenia, 1842. His resignation was accepted, and the Synod testified by a resolution their " sense of the high obligations they were under to him for his long and faithful services as professor." He still continued in his pastoral relation, and was able for several years more to attend to all his ministerial duties. Instead of any failure, it seemed as if his zeal and poAver in preaching the gospel increased with his years. Some of the sermons preached towards the last of his days were of uncom- mon excellence, and were delivered with great fervor of spirit. He felt himself, and made his hearers feel, that he was speak- ing as one upon the brink of the eternal world. In June, 1849, owing to his increasing infirmities, he felt it necessary to urge the acceptance of the resignation of his pastoral charge, which had been previously offered, but the consideration of which had been delayed by the Presbytery in compliance with a petition from the congregation. They had requested the continuance of the pastoral relation, and that arrangements might be made for the supply of his pulpit, so far as his declining health might render necessary. At the time referred BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RAMSEY. 265 to, he however urged the acceptance of his resignation, and was accordingly released from his charge. The congregation, in signifying their acquiescence, testified their high apprecia- tion of his long and faithful services among them. He had been their pastor for something more than forty-four years. He had never spared himself in his labors among them. He had been with them as a sympathizing friend, a wise counselor, and an able comforter in all their troubles. The reputa- tion of many of his people for intelligence and piety had long borne honorable testimony to the faithfulness of his instruc- tions. The larger portion of them had been brought up under his ministry from their youth. He had buried their fathers. He had in many cases baptized and married parents and their children after them. He had been as a father among them, feeling any injurious reflections cast upon them, or any evil befalling them, as a parent would feel in like cases for a child. And, notwithstanding the occurrence of some things trying to his affections, he cherished to the last the liveliest interest in their welfare. It would be strange, and far from a favora- ble indication of the religious character of a people, if such i man should not be long held in the most honorable and grateful remembrance. Some time after resigning his professorship the Doctor returned to the farm which he had left for the sake of the .students, and continued to reside on it till about eighteen months before his death, when he and Mrs. Ramsey, becoming too frail to attend to their domestic affairs, removed to Frank- fort, and resided with their son-in-law, Dr. M'Elwee, near the scenes of the Doctor's youth, the abodes of many of his rela- tives, and the grave of his father, beside whom, during the last years of his life, he had repeatedly expressed his desire to be interred. He still continued, though in his eighty- fourth year, to exercise his ministry occasionally in the pulpit of his son-in-law ; and though feeble in body, was still cheer- ful and even lively in conversation. Three weeks before his 23 266 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. death, he was taken with cholera morbus when about to lie down for the night. H.e was able to be up in the morning, but complained of headache, and appeared very dull and feeble. After a few days he recovered from this attack, but wasted away under an infirmity from which he had suffered for many years. On the last Sabbath of February, which proved to be a very severe day, he attended church, and in common with many others took a cold, which rendered him exceedingly hoarse. On Thursday morning he arose somewhat better, and Mr. Duncan, a gentleman from Pittsburgh, being a visitor in the family, he joined in conversation, and was quite lively and cheerful. But between nine and ten o'clock of that forenoon, he was seized with a chill followed by fever ; which soon prostrated him both in body and mind, and occa sioned some apprehensions of immediate death. On Saturday morning about the same time of day, he had another attack of the same kind, and became unable to speak intelligibly. He continued to sink rapidly till five o'clock Sabbath morn- ing, when the family were called together to witness his death. It was thought he would not live till the hour of public wor- ship, but about nine o'clock he revived, and appeared pretty clear in his mind, and more vigorous in body throughout the remainder of that day and the following night. On Monday morning he appeared more dull, and without any known cause, at nine or ten o'clock he became visibly worse, and, in despite of stimulants, continued to sink, till at five o'clock, Tuesday morning, March 6th, when he breathed his last. He lacked but a few days of having completed his eighty-fourth year. On the Sabbath morning immediately preceding his departure, he called for the reading of Isa. xlvi., in which that precious promise occurs, " And even to your old age I am He, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you," &c. The friend who has communicated these particulars of his last illness, has not related any thing of the exercise of Dr. Ramsey's mind in the immediate view of death ; and it is very probable that BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RAMSEY. 267 owing to the feeble and wandering state of his mind, he was unfitted for much conversation. Besides, had it been other- wise, it would not be inconsistent with the Doctor's general character to suppose that he said but little on this subject. His modesty appeared in his religion as well as in every thing else. For several years he had been calmly awaiting his dis- charge, and spoke of it frequently and freely, and with the utmost quietude and contentment of mind, even as he would have spoken of a journey homewards ; but he was so far from a spirit of boasting, that he even seemed to be altogether reserved in respect to his own religious experience. He had evidently made himself familiar with death, and was prepared to meet him, not as an enemy, but as a welcome messenger of Christ. His holy life was better evidence of preparation than any death-bed professions. On the Thwsday after his decease, his mortal part was laid in the grave-yard of the Associate congregation of Frankfort. Notice of the time of his funeral had not reached his late congregation in season ; otherwise, no doubt, a large number of them, notwithstanding the distance, bad weather, and bad roads, would have attended. The reader may easily infer from the preceding sketch of Dr. Ramsey's life, that he was a man of more than common excellence, and may also perceive what many of his particu- lar excellencies were. Yet it is hoped that it will neither be without interest or profit, to exhibit some of the traits of his character more fully than could well be done in the mere detail of the events of his life. Some of these traits of character were strikingly exhibited in his countenance and general appearance. He was quite tall and slender, and not altogether graceful in his movements, but it is rarely that a countenance meets our view in which are indicated, with such distinctness, and in such agreeable harmony, quickness of discernment, mildness of temper, affectionateness of disposition, and contentment of mind. 268 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. Few persons, even in their youth, have countenances so little marked with the lines of care, anxiety, and passion, as he had, even in extreme old age. Little children, of whom he was very fond, were attracted to him at once by the kindness and cheerfulness so apparent in the expression of his counte- nance, in his conversation and whole deportment. There were also blended with these indications, such seriousness and gravity, as ensured respect and gave force to his ministry. The Doctor had a natural auiiableness of disposition which had been much improved by grace. In some the chief work of grace appears to be to contend with corruptions, and its power and excellence appear in the victory gained over them. In him there seemed less for grace to effect in this way than in ordinary cases. His mind did not appear so much like a field grown over with thorns and briars, to be rooted out before the good seed could be sown, as like a field ready to receive at once the good seed and bring forth fruit. A singular remark once made by an acquaintance may be quo- ted here, as indicating the opinion entertained of the Doctor's natural disposition. In a company where his character had become the subject of conversation, and much was said in praise of his many excellencies, to the surprise of every one, a young man remarked that he did not think the Doctor had any virtue at all. When asked to explain himself, he observed that virtue was generally considered as consisting in the strug- gles of a man's better part against his corruptions. " Now," said he, " I don't believe that Dr. Ramsey has any corruptions to contend with." No doubt the Doctor had different thoughts of himself, and had grounds for them. But though depravity be inherent in all, it has different degrees of power, and in few did its natural power appear to be weaker than in him. In his intercourse with society he always showed himself, as to all the substantial qualities of that character, to be a true gentleman. He was not, as has been admitted, distinguished BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RAMSEY. 269 for gracefulness in his movements. In this respect he appeared, both in the pulpit and in the parlor, to have no thought of his personal appearance. His mind was too much engaged about other things. Yet few could be compared to him in their talents for entertaining and instructive conversa- tion. His mind was not only well stored with religious truth, but well informed on almost every subject of importance. He was not disposed to engross the conversation, or direct attention to himself, but in his own modest way, could express his mind freely and appropriately on all common topics. He was not rude, dogmatical, or overbearing, but remarkably affectionate, and ever ready to yield all clue deference to others. While he abhorred duplicity and flattery, he was yet careful not causelessly to wound the feelings of any ; but rather to say things which would be agreeable and useful. His friendships were warm, almost unbounded : and though he was capable of dislike, he knew how to treat even an enemy with decent courtesy. In a word, if the reader will turn to Rom. sii : 9-21, he will there find the truest and best rules of politeness ever penned; and few individuals ever lived up to these rules more faithfully than Dr. Ramsey. The consequence of this was, that he was always a most welcome guest in the houses of his acquaintances ; he was Usually the centre of attraction in the social circles with which he mingled, and his society was courted equally by young and old, rich and poor. Perhaps no trait in his character was more prominent, more universally admitted and admired, than his strict unbending integrity. In this respect it would be hard to find his equal, and it is believed it would be impossible to find his superior. Such was his reputation for honesty and integrity, that not long before his death a gentleman of the highest standing in the county remarked, in reference to a question affecting his character for veracity, that if Dr. Ramsey were convicted of falsehood, he could never again believe himself. His honesty 28* 270 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. in his dealings was such that persons who could not compre- hend his conscientiousness were ready to accuse him of sim- plicity. Few could be as watchful to take the advantage of others in a bargain as he was to avoid it. He has been often known at auctions to bid up articles where there was no com- petition, through an unwillingness to obtain them under their true value. A gentleman who had sold or traded away a horse for the Doctor, came to him and boasted that he had gained for him an advantage of ten dollars, supposing that this would be highly gratifying. The Doctor never signified whether he was pleased or not, but upon the first opportunity quietly handed over ten dollars to the person supposed to be the loser in the bargain. Not long before his death, finding himself unable to ride on horseback, an exercise of which he had always been particularly fond, he proposed his horse for sale. The animal was somewhat aged, but still sound, vigor- ous, and in good condition — (the Doctor's horses were always well kept.) A friend to whom he had intrusted this business being asked by a gentleman the price of the horse, replied, forty dollars. The horse was without any hesitation purchased for this sum. Soon afterwards the gentleman met the Doctor in the street and mentioned the purchase he had made. " Ah," says the Doctor, "you can't have the horse at that price." The purchaser, not a little surprised at the refusal, reminded the Doctor that this was all that had been demanded. " True," said the Doctor, " but I can't sell him for forty dol- lars ; you may, however, have him, if you choose, for twenty- five." It is hoped the reader will excuse these anecdotes, as they serve better to illustrate the Doctor's character than whole pages of abstract description. Many others of the same kind might be repeated, exhibiting the same sterling honesty for which he was, throughout all his life and in all his transactions, so eminently distinguished. In connection with this may be noticed his disregard of wealth ; his indifference in this respect, if not indulged even BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. RAMSEY. 271 to a fault in himself, was certainly in some cases the occasion of faults in others. It encouraged imposition. He was far from being ignorant of worldly things. He knew even better than the most of men what was just and proper in worldly transactions; he knew as well as others when he was defrauded, but would rather submit to injustice than contend ; hence, unprincipled persons often took advantage of him in their dealings, presuming that it might be done with impunity. In a few, and but very few instances, his indignation against the meanness of individuals in their extortions, prompted a resistance to which the love of money could never have moved him. In the early part of his ministry, he had some difficul- ties to contend with in providing for his family, but the bles- sing annexed to liberality attended him, and for the remainder of his life, though not what would generally be regarded as a rich man, he had not only a competence, but an abundance. His salary was small, only a trifle over $300 per annum, a sum far from sufficient to support his family, but by the pru- dent management of Mrs. Ramsey, who proved in this as well as in other respects a help peculiarly meet for him ; by means of what he inherited through her, by the increase in the value of the property which he had acquired, and by other means, Providence so favored him, that he had enough, and to spare ; and he was ever ready to spare liberally of what the Lord had given him. When elected professor, he received an addition to his salary of $300 per annum from the Synod : a large portion of this, however, was expended in contribu- tions to aid the Synod in the erection of a suitable building for the seminary, and in other public benefactions. He always, through an excess of modesty, opposed any movement of his congregation to increase his salary, although their ability so far exceeded what they paid, that some of them frankly acknowledged that they had felt for years as if guilty of stealing preaching, what they gave being so nearly nothing at all. At the time of his resigning his professorship in the 272 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. seminary and the salary connected with it, he even opposed a small increase of his salary from the congregation, though in this instance his opposition was not successful. We may add the following illustration of the Doctor's indifference about the world, and of his generosity of disposition. About the year 1821, articles of produce were reduced to an exceedingly low value ; wheat was only twenty-five cents a bushel, flour one dollar per barrel in Pittsburgh. To relieve the poor of his congregation, the Doctor announced, and to save the feel- ings of the poor announced without making any discrimina- tion, that he would receive, at the mill in Canonsburg, wheat at fifty cents per bushel, in payment of salary. The conse- quence was that his granary was soon filled and overflowing. Several times when the congregation had fallen behind in their payments, he forgave their arrearages. These, however, they in a very honorable spirit, liquidated by a donation of equal value a few years before the resignation of his charge. Dr. Ramsey was very celebrated for a peculiar kind of wit, which derived much of its power from his gravity, and was so far from detracting from his ministerial character and use- fulness, that it rather added to both. His wit was altogether remote from levity ; neither was he addicted to malicious and biting sarcasm ; but he abounded in a species of wit of the most innocent and inoffensive character. His remarks were often so unexpected, uttered with so much apparent serious- ness, and exhibited things in such a ridiculous light, that their power in provoking laughter was altogether irresistible. Something of his wit often appeared' in the pulpit, but so restrained and connected with his seriousness, that it seldom if ever had any tendency to produce a smile, but often smote upon the conscience with great power. As an example of this may be mentioned a remark made in a sermon preached not many years before his decease. He had heard, as was thought, an unfavorable report respecting some young people whose parents were members of the church, and took occasion, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RAMSEY. 273 without any allusion to individuals, to describe in a very striking manner their course of conduct, and its consequences. He closed by observing that such young persons were in the broad way that leadeth to destruction ; " Yes," said he, " going to the pit as fast as their feet can carry them ; unless," he added, as if correcting himself, " they take Judas's road." He often introduced observations of this kind in a manner so unexpected and yet so appropriate, that the hearers were at the same time agreeably surprised and powerfully-impressed. He seldom preached without saying something which either in itself, or in the peculiar and pointed way in which he uttered it, was calculated to take a firm hold of the conscience, and excite serious reflections. To borrow one of his own expressions, sometimes used respecting the performances of others, " His sermons had teeth." Something has been said already of the Doctor's conversa- tional powers, which were much beyond the common standard. His power of discrimination and independence of mind, ren- dered his views of many things singularly just and original ; and these he was accustomed to express in a brief and pointed way, often including in a single remark the substance of what others would have expanded into a long dissertation. For instance, the subject of conversation being ecclesiastical estab- lishments, he observed, that though he had read many very plausible arguments in their favor, one thing had always appeared to him against them, — they had never worked well. In remarking upon a book relating to the proprieties of cleri- cal manners, he observed that it was an excellent work, and calculated to be useful; "but," added he, " Thomas Boston would never have written it." He was of late years appre- hensive that judgments were impending over our country, and having heard that one of the most pious members of his con- gregation was at the point of death, he inquired respecting him, and being told that he was recovering, "I am glad of it," said he, " I hope Methusalah will not be taken away yet," 274 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. referring to the opinion that the flood was not to come till Methusalah's death. A student proposing himself for the study of theology, whose mind was too much occupied about matters of dress, having inquired of him what dress he thought most suitable for a student, he very gravely recommended to him the long jacket of humility. Another youth of a very different spirit, having asked him whether he thought it con- sistent in Christians to indulge in laughter, he replied, that he thought it about equally criminal with sneezing. This was said in a way so droll, that if laughter were sinful, the remark proved a sad stumbling block to the company. A lady in one of our eastern cities having observed to the Doctor that she had understood that our ministers in the West were not favorable to Sabbath Schools, he assured her that this was a great mistake. " We," said he, " endeavor to have a Sab- bath School in every family of the congregation." Many remarks of this kind are still recollected by the Doctor's acquaintances, which, if they could be collected into a volume, would not compare unfavorably with other books of table talk which have found their way to the public. As a preacher the Doctor would not be ranked among the most popular by a certain class, though by some of the best judges he was considered as one of the greatest orators. He undoubtedly possessed many and great excellencies. His gen- eral acceptability when commencing his ministry is evident not only from the number of the calls which he received, but from the respectable character of the congregations giving them. Three of these at least were at this time among the most numerous, intelligent, and pious congregations of the Associate Church. As he advanced in years, his application to study, and the increase of his religious experience rendered his ministerial labors still more valuable. The first impres- sion with strangers was seldom favorable. He spoke slowly, though without any painful embarrassment. His style was plain, and his manner not altogether graceful. But after a BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RAMSEY. 275 little familiarity with his manner, the hearer not only became reconciled to it, but it seemed even to add to the effect of his preaching. It was obyious to every one that he had no thought of what he was doing with his hands or feet, or how he appeared in the eyes of the people — that his whole soul was engaged in his Master's work. Though slow, and not at all boisterous in speaking, he was always earnest, sometimes burning with zeal. The method of his sermons was clear and logical. His subjects remarkably appropriate to the occasion. His illustrations were scriptural, and often exceedingly perti- nent and striking. He generally comprehended much in a few words, so that those who looked more to the thoughts than the volubility of the speaker, had no cause for weariness. He would weary intelligent people less by a sermon of an hour and a half than many rapid speakers would in half an hour. Looking merely at the thoughts, he would say more in a few minutes than many would say in a whole day, or perhaps in all their lifetime. He had a just perception of things and a lively imagina- tion, and hence excelled particularly in description. He made a frequent and unusually happy use of the figure called Per- sonification. His example was once quoted by the Professor of Rhetoric in Jefferson College to illustrate this figure ; with the observation that a distinguished member of Congress, who happened to hear him in passing through the village, had spoken of him as one of the few pulpit orators he had ever heard. Some of his descriptions, though they could not now be given in his own words or accompanied with his man- ner, will be long remembered by the hearers. Such, for instance, is his account of the descent of Moses from the mount, to which he on one occasion referred at the close of the dispensation of the Supper, expressing to the people his fear that, like Israel at that time, some of them would soon be found singing and dancing about the golden calf, applying his remarks to the sin of inordinately seeking after wealth. 276 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. He has been known to give a most life-like picture of worship as observed in some families at a late hour in the evening, making the hearers to imagine that they could almost see some of the children in bed, and the rest of the family ready to drop asleep, the father taking his seat by the Bible, and after yawning over it, looks out a psalm, singing a few verses, then hurrying through a chapter, and going to his knees to repeat over the same old prayer — the wife snoring in one cor- ner and the children in another, and then as soon as the ser- vice was over all tumbling into bed without so much as a thought about what had been sung or read or prayed. On one occasion, when speaking of the approach of death, and warning people that it might be sudden, he observed that many lived in the confident anticipation that this approach would be gradual, so that there would be abundance of time to prepare ; that death would come to them like a traveler who would just make his appearance at the end of the lane, and whom they would see riding up at a slow pace towards the house. After awhile they would see him alighting and fastening his horse ; then making his way to the house, opening the gate, and coming through the yard ; then again they would hear him knocking at the door, and knocking again and again before he would enter. In this way they thought he would come rather than as a thief in the night. Among the last times that he preached at Chartiers, he introduced the services of the day with a few remarks on Ps. xviii ; the hint leading to which he mentioned as bor- rowed from Rutherford, but the manner of exhibiting the truth was evidently his own. He observed, in substance, that it was with the children of Grod, as it was in our families when a child was sick. Everything in our houses must be regulated with a reference to the sick child till it is recovered. Business must be suspended, quiet must be observed, servants sent here and there, physicians must be called, nurses employed, some must be running up stairs, some down. Nothing else BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RAMSEY. 277 is regarded compared with the safety and comfort of that child. Just so, said he, it is in the case of God's children when any of them is in trouble. The earth is made to trem- ble, the foundations of the hills are moved, the heavens are bowed, the Lord himself conies down, the clouds are gathered and again dispersed, the thunders roar, the channels of the waters are seen, the foundations of the world discovered — all the elements are put in commotion, and all the proceedings of God in his kingdom are managed with a reference to the case of that child, till he is delivered. When he described the management of the house where there was a sick child, one could hardly avoid imagining himself in the midst of the scene, so strongly did it appear impressed on the mind of the speaker, and so vividly was it portrayed. Another peculiarity in his preaching was the method which he often employed to gain and fix the attention of his hear- ers. He would, without any appearance of having studied this as an art, begin with some remarks, the particular object of which the hearers would not readily perceive. After he had excited their curiosity as to his design, fixed their atten- tion, and prepared the way, he would make the application to the purpose intended so unexpectedly and so appropriately, that they were taken by surprise, and convinced almost before they were aware of it. He seemed in this to have copied the spirit without following the form of some of our Saviour's parables. Upon a Sabbath which happened to be the first day of the year, the Doctor read for his text, John iii : 16, u For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son," &c. ; and after looking around for awhile upon the congregation, as his habit was, he commenced by observing that this was New Year's day, and then enlarged upon the practice of mak- ing it a time for giving gifts. After keeping the minds of the people for some time in suspense, as to the connexion of such remarks with ihe solemn work of the ministry, he added, 24 278 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. that the text revealed to us the greatest and best of all gifts — God's gift of his only-begotten Son. The subjects on which he delighted to dwell were those which constitute the substance and life of the gospel : the love of God in giving his Son, the all-sufficiency of Christ in his righteousness and grace, the gift of him to sinners as such in the gospel, the duty of appropriating faith, and the believer's deliverance from the law as a covenant. He seldom preached without introducing some of these topics ; very often they were the main points discussed. The doctrine and duty of cove- nanting, both public and private, were also frequently brought into view. There was, however, nothing like a wearisome sameness in his sermons; even when he repeated them, as towards the close of his life he sometimes did, it was with many variations. The books which he delighted to read, and which gave character to his discourses, were those written by the Puritans of England, the Marrow men of Scotland, and others of a kindred spirit. Marshall on Sanctification was a particular favorite, and it was his regular custom to read this work once every year. Not that he confined himself to these writers and despised others of the present time. He often purchased and read with avidity modern productions, but gen- erally came to the conclusion that the old wine was better. Some of his people imbibed so much of his love of books, and books of a like character, that not many ministers are fur- nished with libraries of equal value with those which they have collected. All the Doctor's acquaintances agree in opinion that in no part of his ministerial duty did he excel more than in prayer. His manner in this duty, like that of his preaching, was slow and deliberate, almost hesitating j yet few could be compared to him for appropriateness, propriety and fervency. His the- ological students often remarked how apposite his prayers were to the subjects under discussion. The afflicted and dying appeared generally to regard one of Dr. Ramsey's prayers as BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCII OP DR. RAMSEY. 279 the greatest of all services which could be rendered to them in this world. He seemed not only to have a peculiar power to carry his fellow worshipers with him to a throne of grace, but to bring away something for their profit and consolation. He was often sent for in cases of sickness, not only by the members of his congregation, but by strangers, and even by such as had previously professed but little regard for his ministry. There was no one whose conversation and prayers were more valued than his in cases of this kind. Though noted for his strict adherence to his religious pro- fession, he was far from being uncharitable towards those whose creeds differed from his. He loved the image of Christ wherever he could find any traces of it; he rejoiced in the prosperity of all parts of his kingdom, and spoke of the satis- faction which was sometimes manifested by the members of one denomination in hearing of some evil befalling another, as one of the surest indications of the want, or at least the weakness, of grace. In his private intercourse with his breth- ren of other churches, while faithful to his own profession, he was not forward to enter into controversy, or say offensive things j and in his public ministrations, when his subjects led him to speak of opinions and usages which he condemned, he did so in such a spirit that no reasonable person could be displeased. He was accustomed to inculcate upon students and young preachers a respectful treatment of such as differed from them, observing that there was little prospect of con- vincing men by causelessly wounding their feelings and insult- ing their judgments. As the consequence of this course of conduct, he secured the esteem and good will of all good men, and even the respect of bad men. No minister of the Asso- ciate Church had a better reputation either in it or out of it. Every one was ready to rise up in his defence, and to repel indignantly any attack made upon his character. As a professor of theology his department was didactic theology and Hebrew. In teaching theology his custom was 280 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. on alternate days to read a short lecture, and catechize the students on the subject of it. The latter of these exercises was what he chiefly depended on for informing their minds. He had no ambition to make to himself a name by an affec- tation of originality, or the introduction of novelties. With powers of judgment and discrimination, with an imagination and ingenuity sufficient to have raised him to a high rank among those having the reputation of original thinkers, he was content to travel in the old and safe way in which others had gone before him. He was firmly attached to the system of truth derived from the Bible by the first Reformers and their immediate successors. He was thoroughly familiar with it, and very capable of teaching it in a clear and comprehen- sive manner. In the Hebrew he was in a great measure self- taught, never having proceeded much if anything beyond the first principles of the language till his election as professor. But considering his age at this time, and the multiplicity of his labors, it was rather remarkable that he made such pro- gress in this branch of business as he did. So far as known there were no complaints of his incompetency in teaching it. He excelled as a critic upon the performances of the students, having a quick discernment of any thing amiss in the doc- trines advanced, the plans of their sermons, their style, and general character as speakers. Still he had not an eye merely for their faults, but could see and commend what was worthy of praise. In pointing out faults he was not usually severe, but sometimes could not refrain from the indulgence of his wit, and raising a laugh at the expense of the young men. Yet in doing this there was evidently no intention to give offence, and generally none was taken. The standing of those ministers who prosecuted their studies under him is generally such as to reflect no discredit upon their teacher. There were many traits in the character of Dr. Ramsey which may easily be inferred from those mentioned ; such as his affectionateness in his family and towards his friends, his BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. RAMSEY. 261 hospitality to friends and strangers, his prudence and his uncomplaining spirit. Although he felt keenly, he had a wonderful control over himself, and would seem almost indif* ferent to troubles, by which his spirit was overwhelmed, and his eyes held waking in the night season. If some affairs brought before the Presbytery of Chartiers, a few weeks before his death, in which he and his family were deeply interested, did not hasten his end, they at least caused that his gray hairs were brought down with sorrow to the grave. That which constituted his greatest excellence, and which is to him now, and will soon be found by us all in our own cases, to be the most important of attainments, was his sincere and ardent piety. No man was less disposed to make a parado of his religion; no man less needed to do it. His piety shone forth so clearly in his whole life, that it could not be hid ; it was a piety not in word, but in deed and in truth. Like all members of the human family he had his infirmities, but they were neither numerous nor glaring. It has been said of some that even their faults lean to virtue's side. It might be said of Dr. Ramsey, that his chief faults consisted in the excess of his virtues. His modesty, his indifference to the world, his forbearance, and his friendships were some- times carried to an extreme. Such was his humble estimate of himself, that he never could be prevailed upon to become an author. It is not known that he ever penned any thing for publication beyond a short presbyterial report, or something of this kind ; and even in these cases, he was only driven to it by necessity. His method of preparing sermons was to write an outline, pretty full so far as related to the ideas to be advanced, but as to the language, containing only hints, intelligible to him- self, but not generally to others. It is not probable that he has left any thing in a state suitable for publication. But as his manner of speaking was very distinct and deliberate, some of his students and others of his friends occasionally took 24* 282 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. notes of his sermons j and it is possible that a volume, or at least some specimens of them, may yet be prepared for the press. Although Dr. Ramsey was spared to a great age, gave very clear evidence of his preparation to leave the world, and was not called away till the days of bis active usefulness were ended, the church in which he ministered, and the church at large, have reason to lament the loss of his example and his prayers. Such men still fill the office of Moses, who stood in the breach and turned away the anger of the Lord ; and we may well mourn over their removal, and say, " Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, and the faithful fail from among the children of men." BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH REV. ABRAHAM ANDERSON, D. D. Professor of Didactic Theology in the Associate Seminary, at Canonsburg, Washington county, Pa.; also Professor of Languages in Jeffer- son College, from September, 1818, to September, 1821 and Professor Extra, of Hebrew in Jefferson College, from December, 1852, till his death, May, 1855. BY REV. W . M . M ' E L, W E E [Abridged from the " Evangelical Repository."] The parents of Dr. Anderson, (Abraham Anderson and Elizabeth Chesnutt,) were born in Ireland, but in what county is not known. They were united in marriage during the period of our Revolutionary struggle, and emigrated to Amer- ica shortly after the renewal of amicable relations between the United States and the mother country. Having arrived in the United States about 1784, they took up their abode in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and there they continued to reside till 1805 or 180G. All, or nearly all, of their chil- dren, (five sons and three daughters,) were born in that county : Abraham, their second son and third child, was born in New- ville, a small village of Cumberland county, on the 7th day of December, 1789. As is generally the case with emigrants from the old world, Mr. Anderson, when he reached the United States, was in very limited circumstances, but by the blessing of the Lord (283) 284 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. upon bis honest labors, his worldly condition improved from year to year. On removing from Cumberland county, in 1805 or 1806, to Washington county, in Western Pennsylva- nia, he was able to secure a small farm — that on which the Rev. Matthew Henderson spent his last days, — and on this tract, hallowed by the piety of his predecessor, he spent the remainder of his years, not in splendid affluence, but in plenty of all things. To secure the stated dispensation of word and ordinances in their purity, so that his own soul might be continually edified and his family trained up in the nurture and admoni- tion of the Lord, was Mr. Anderson's great object in remov- ing to the West. The place to which he was directed in Providence, and on which he settled, was very suitable to the end he had in view, being but two and a half miles from the church of the Associate congregation of Chartiers, of which the late James Ramsey, D. D., was pastor at the time, and continued to be the pastor for several years after the death of Mr. Anderson. His object, so highly laudable, was fully gained. He enjoyed the plain, earnest ministrations of Dr. Ramsey during the residue of his days, and appeared to grow in knowledge, faith, and heavenly-mindedness. After a few years' connection with the congregation, he was advanced to the eldership, and all his children, yielding to the instructions of the word, written and preached, and to the force of their father's example, lived in sobriety and godliness ; and as they reached maturity of life, professed the Christian faith, and sought communion with Christ and his people. It is the desire of many parents to accumulate wealth for the benefit of their children. They persuade themselves that if they had thousands at their command, they could and would secure for their children the best teachers, have the brightest examples set before them, and give them all their time for improving their minds and their manners. But an humble condition, with piety, has its advantages, and they are greater BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. ANDERSON. 285 than mere affluence can afford. These greater advantages were the lot in Divine Providence of the children of Mr. Anderson, and particularly of Abraham, the subject of the present sketch. He was taught from childhood to fear and reverence the God of Israel, to esteem and relish his word, to say, "Thou, God, seest me," and to make the will of God the rule and reason of his conduct. He was taught to pray, and taught how to pray ; for though the elder Anderson was not one of the learned, yet he had a fine gift of prayer, and prayed in his own house morning and evening with a fullness and pathos not always attained, even by the public ministers of the gospel. He was taught to think and reason, to con- trive and plan, to fix on an end and to pursue it laboriously, not regarding the clamors of the flesh for rest and ease. A good religious training is the best fortune which a young man can inherit, and those young men are in the fairest way to possess this inheritance whose parents are poor as to worldly things, but rich in faith and in the knowledge of the divine word. It is no discredit to the son of Jesse, that he was taken from the sheep-fold, " from following the ewes, great with young, to feed bis people Israel ;" and it is no discredit to Dr. Ander- son, if he was taken from the plough, to feed the people of Christ with the bread of life. The cares and toils of the farm were in fact his occupation, from the time that he was capable of helping in such affairs, till he was nearly twenty-three years of age. To persons of an upright spirit and sober mind, no business is more agreeable. Some of the greatest intellects have acknowledged and manifested a fondness for agricultural pursuits. Cincinnatus was taken from his plough to command the armies of the Roman republic, and our own Washington, as is well known, preferred the cares of his farm to the anxieties of the camp and of the court. No doubt Mr. Anderson took pleasure in the labors of the field, and it may be that he never would have been heard of as a teacher and 28G HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. leader in the Church of Christ, had he not been called from his paternal home and rural labors to other scenes, and labors of a more trying nature. The second war with Great Britain, sometimes called the war for establishing our national independence, was declared by Congress on the 18th of June, 1812. Soldiers were needed to defend the eastern and northern boundaries of the Republic, and as a sufficient number could not be enlisted, the citizens were drafted to perform the duties of soldiers. Some were taken to the Atlantic coast to repel the enemy in that quarter, and others to the North and North-west to resist invasions from Canada, and to repress and chastise the atroci- ties of savage warfare, most of the Indian tribes having enlisted on the side of Britain. What portion of the yeo- manry of the country was called to arms in the course of the war, is unknown. But so many husbandmen and arti- zans became soldiers, that there was scarcely a family in any part of our extended country, that was not made heavy in spirit by the draft or enlistment of one or more of its members. In the autumn of 1812, a portion of the militia of Western Pennsylvania was called out by the War department, to defend the borders lying between Cleveland and Sandusky, against the British from Canada, and to repress and chastise the ferocity of the savage tribes in that region of Ohio. The joy fulness of many families was exchanged for heaviness and gloomy forebodings. The family of old Mr. Anderson was not exempted. Abraham, the beloved son and brother, was one of the draft, being at the time not quite twenty-three years of age. About the necessity and lawfulness of the war, the people of the United States were diyided into two parties — equal to each other in numbers, or at least, very nearly equal. What were the private thoughts of young Mr. Anderson about these matters of public debate, the writer cannot state with absolute certainty. But he appears to have BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DE. ANDERSON. 287 been with the democratic or war party, in judgment and in feeling. In compliance with the draft, he went out from his beloved home, and as a private went through all the hard- ships of a winter campaign in the North-west of Ohio, which it is presumed he would have found some means of avoiding, had he doubted of the lawfulness of the war, or had he not considered that the call of his country was also the call of Providence. Mr. Anderson, though at this time but a youth, had in some way acquired the habit of industry and forecast ; the habit of turning every little portion of time to some good account; and in the intervals of military duty, he wrote a brief journal of the campaign in which he bore a part. The journal is preserved entire, and though the writer of it had to substitute his knee or a billet of wood for a table, the writing is easily read, excepting a small portion' of it written with bad ink, and effaced, in a good measure, by the lapse of so many years. It appears from the journal that the regiment of which Mr. Anderson constituted a part, assembled in Pitts- burgh, in the beginning of October, 1812, and from thence marched on the 19th of the month under the command of Major D. Nelson, to Beaver, Lisbon, Canton, Massillon, Wooster and Mansfield. At the latter place the band lay in jamp from the 10th of November till the 12th of December, and strange as it may seem to those now living in that peace- ful village, there were rumors of persons tomahawked and scalped in the neighborhood. Sentinels were placed with the utmost care, and scouting parties were sent out to discover, if possible, the lurking places of the foe. The rumors, how- ever, were but rumors, and this being ascertained, the detach- ment marched to the plains of Sandusky, to Delawaretown, to Norton, to Franklinton, and Upper Sandusky. The band reached the latter place on the 31st of December, and lay there in camp till the 24th of January, when, in compliance with an express, they marched for Miami. Having to w&de through mud and water, in many places to the knees, they 288 history or JEFFERSON COLLEC1E. made but eight miles in the day, and camping at Tiomocto, lay there from the 25th to the 29th, waiting for the waters to freeze up. While waiting, bad news was received, in conse- quence of which they had to march on the 29th, without their tents, and with three clays' provisions in their knapsacks. On the 1st of February, the band reached Portage river, and on the following day came to the Rapids, where, says the journal, " We found a man killed by the Indians. He had been sent in company with two others to the British, and wag killed. The other two not being found were supposed to have been taken as prisoners." The band of soldiers being now in the midst of enemies distinguished by insidious cunning as well as by ferocious cour- age, cast up breast-works about the place of their encampment, and built a block house, to which was given the name of Fort Meigs. Spies were sent out to ascertain the position of the Indians, and on the 9th of February the spies returned and reported that they had found an encampment of about three hundred Indians, eighteen miles down the river, whereupon Major Nelson called for sis hundred volunteers to go and attack them by night. The journal states that twelve hundred volunteered, and does not add that the writer was one of the twelve hundred. But such is the fact. It is distinctly recol- lected that Mr. Anderson stated in private conversation with friends, that he had volunteered to take part in the perils of that adventure ; and this fact is implied in the journal, for it is added after the statement quoted above, " We commenced our march at 8 o'clock, P. M., and at 2 o'clock in the morn- ing came to the Indian encampment, but they had all fled." •To follow the journal in all its details would be wearisome to most of our readers. It is judged, however, that the fol- lowing extracts will be acceptable ; and they will serve to evince us that Mr, Anderson, in the course of his campaign, went through great trials and hardships, though he was not engaged in any battle. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 289 "On Friday, the 26th of February, a party of us set out for Lower Sandusky on a secret expedition. Reached Lower Sandusky on the 28th. Rested there till the 1st day of March. On the 2d, Captain Logan assembled the whole party, which numbered about two hundred men, and informed us that the object of the expedition was to burn the Queen Charlotte, lying at Maiden, and requested all to retire to camp that did not choose to encounter the danger involved in the undertaking ; or that could not be cool and deliberate under the yells of savages and the roar of cannon. No one of the whole party confessed the weakness of his nerves and prayed to be excused. But as the ice on the lake was broken up, the expedition failed to effect the object intended, and after much exposure and fatigue the company returned to the Rapids. "On the 9th of March an alarm was given. Two or three of our men went down the river a few miles from the camp, who, on their return, reported that they were fired on by six Indians. No one of the little company was killed or wounded ; but one of them had a bullet lodged in a Bible in his pocket. " On the same day, a lieutenant in Major Nelson's battalion, of the name of Walker, went out of camp some distance, and on the 10th he was found, shot through, tomahawked, and scalped, and thrown into the river. " On the 19th of March, a scouting party went out and returned with the loss of one man, supposed to be taken prisoner. " On the 21st of March, another scouting party went out and found many signs of Indians. A large party went over the river to lie in wait that night. About ten o'clock at night we had an alarm by the firing of two platoons on that side of the river where our scouting party was. The party on returning, reported that they saw two or three Indians, and fired. No one was Jailed. a On the 81st of March, our general collected us together 25 290' HISTORY Of JEEFEKSON COLLEGE for the purpose of getting volunteers to stay fifteen days to- keep the fort. Two hundred men turned out to stay." The occasion of this call for volunteers was the fact that the time of service for which the militia had been ealled out was about to expire, and as yet the troops to supply their place bad not arrived. It was important to the eountry and to the magnanimous regulars occupying the fort, that a con- siderable portion of the militia should stay beyond their time. But all naturally desired to be out of danger, and to enjoy the convivialities and comforts of home ; and these desires prevailed with the greater part. On the 2d of April, between nine and ten hundred Pennsylvanians and Virginians took their departure. Only two hundred subjected the yearnings- of their hearts to a sense of duty, and stayed to defend the fort and the lives of their brethren. Of this magnanimous little band, Mr. Anderson was one, and by his course on that occasion, he showed that high regard for duty which he often manifested in future life. He was very affectionate and ten- der-hearted, and no doubt desired to be at home as earnestly as those who returned home as soon as the strong hand of the law allowed them to do so. But asking his own conscience what is duty in the ease ? and receiving the answer, stay, he hesitated no longer — stay he would, and die. The defence of the fort being greatly weakened, the enemy became more insolent, and the condition of the men holding the fort more perilous. On the 4th of April, two Indians killed and scalped a man within a hundred yards of the camp. They were pursued, but escaped. On the 8th, forty Indians attacked a fatigue party, while loading a wagon with wood. One of the party was killed, two taken prisoners ; the rest were chased but escaped. Two bands went in pursuit of the Indians, one of which overtook and killed nine of them. Seven of the pursuing party were wounded, and two of them mortally. The following paragraph is interesting, and bears witness t© the humanity of the Commander-in-chief : BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 291 " On the 16th of April, a man having been condemned to be shot for desertion, an offence which he had repeated five times : the ring was formed in a hollow square ; the criminal was brought forward by a guard, the band playing the ' Dead March ;' he was set by on a bench, and a black handkerchief tied around his head. The charges against him were read with the sentence of the court. The handkerchief was then drawn over his face ; the officer commanding the executioners ordered them to make ready. They did so, and at that instant General Harrison gave him his reprieve, and ordered him to the Provost Guard." "On the 18th of April," the journal goes on to say, " We left Fort Meigs for home. Our number was ten, three of whom were not able to carry arms. It was twenty miles to Portage Block House. Five of our company gave out within two miles of Portage, where we lay during the night, with- out fire, after wading through mud and water to the knees as much as half the way. About ten o'clock, while I was on guard, a gun was fired three or four hundred yards off, which I suppose was done by an Indian, as no white men were near There was also repeated yells of wolves, or rather of Indians affecting to be wolves. No other disturbance was observed till near break of day, when we were surprised by a savage yell, perhaps three hundred yards off. We were all awake and stood to arms waiting for an attack, till clear day. We then marched in order to Portage, expecting to be attacked by the way, but by the interposition of Providence, we escaped our enemies' hands. We took refreshment at Portage, and then continued our March through the Black Swamp, which was about three miles in breadth, and often three or four feet deep ; and, indeed, our future march, at least as far as Sandusky, was through a continued swamp " The words of the last sentence are the close of the journal. It was not intended for public inspection, and was left incom- plete. But though it was written for mere private use, with- 292 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON college. out the ordinary conveniences for writing, and though it was written in a very trying and exciting time, when Mr. Ander- son was but a youth, and had no education but such as he picked up in the common schools of the country, we confi- dently appeal to the performance as proof of a sound, vigor- ous mind, and a firm, manly spirit. As a dead fly causeth the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor, so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom. But there are no signs of weakness in the journal — no whin- ing about losses and hardships, no boasting of a heart proof against the sharp arrows of fear ; nor of exploits done, or of exploits attempted, at the thought of which others blanched and drew back. There are no silly conceits, nor anything at all to make the writer blush, were he still living, and the whole spread before the world as the earliest production of his pen. We notice, however, a want which we did not expect to find, — the want of a religious sentiment and feeling. Mr. Anderson had professed the Christian religion some years before he was called to be a soldier, and had partaken of the Lord's Supper a number of times. Yet in his journal the Bible is mentioned but once, and in that instance it is men- tioned incidentally. The interposition of Providence in behalf of himself and his companions, is mentioned but once. The Sabbath is not mentioned at all. There is no notice of any opportunity of attending public worship, and there are no lamentations about the want of such opportunities. How are we to account for these omissions ? When Mr. Anderson repaired to the camp, did he leave his religion behind him ? This supposition the testimony of his fellow soldiers forbids us to entertain. They report that he carried his Bible with him, and often employod his leisure moments in the perusal of it, — that he made an observable difference between the Lord's day and other clays, — that when it fell to his lot to stand sentinel during the Sabbath evening, or to do any public duty on the Lord's day, he always avoided it, if it were in his BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. ANDERSON. 293 power so to do, — that profane language was never heard from his lips, — that he was virtuous and honorable, and highly esteemed both by the officers and men. It would not, therefore, be warrantable to infer from the want of pious expressions in the journal, that Mr. Anderson was at that time destitute of Christian faith and sentiment. It might, indeed, be inferred as well, that he was without natural feeling, for though he was at times in great peril, the journal says nothing of the anguish of fear; and though he was often in circumstances which all men everywhere regard as distressing, yet nothing is complained of in any part of the journal. Nothing is said of the pride and tyranny of officers, — nothing of the hard fare of the common soldier, — nothing of the painfulness of an alarm in the night; and even when he wades through water and mire all the day, and beds in the swamp at night, without fire, there is no expression to indicate that Mr. Anderson felt the discomforts of his situa- tion. But surely he was not without natural feeling, and it is equally certain that he hoped and trusted in the living Grod, and was thankful to Him for His care and protection. But if he felt indeed, why did he not give utterance to his feel- ings ? The proper solution of the difficulty appears to be simply this : having no accommodation for writing, and very little time for such business, he proposed not to write a com- plete history of his physical and spiritual experience during the campaign, but merely to write a memorandum of places, dates and incidents, for the help of his memory in thinking and speaking in after years of that trying season. How well his labor answered the design of it, is very evident from the extracts that have been exhibited. Viewing, with the help of Mr. Anderson's journal, the trials and hardships of the North-western campaign, in the winter of 1812-13, the considerate reader can hardly fail to reflect on the horrors of war. How unpleasant and painful js the whole business, and how great the havoc that attends 25* 294 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. it ! The campaign over which we have glanced, was not sig- nalized by any bloody engagement, but a number of persons were killed. All, at times, were disquieted with fear, though the journal does not tell us so, and all suifered greatly through exposure to piercing winds, and to water from above, and water on the surface of the earth. Though that was an age of greater vigor and hardihood than the present, yet many, by the severity of their trials, were brought down to the dust of death before the close of the campaign ; and many others had the seeds of disease and death implanted in their systems. It is thought by a fellow-soldier that Mr. Anderson was never the same in respect of buoyant health that he had been before the campaign. If those who make wars had to fight them through to the bitter end, so many wars would not be pro- claimed. After leaving Portage, as stated in the journal, and touch- ing at Sandusky, it is not known through what towns and villages Mr. Anderson passed. But he reached his paternal home in health and safety about the 1st of May, 1813. He was joyful and thankful, and no doubt his parents, now well on in years, rejoiced over him, and called their other children and their friends to rejoice with them, saying as the father in the parable, " This, our son was dead, and he is alive again ; he was lost, and is found." Though Mr. Anderson returned to his father's habitation, he did not return to his former employment. He had been seized with a desire to pursue studies in preparation for the gospel ministry, and had signified his desire to his parents, two or perhaps three years before he was called out to assist in defending the country. At that time his father opposed the project, alleging that his labors on the farm were very need- ful ; and that the family could not dispense with his assis tance, and at the same time bear the additonal burden that would be imposed by his college fees, and other incidental ex- penses. Mr. Anderson felt and acknowledged the force of the BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP t)R. ANDERSON. 295 objection : he abandoned the project for the time, and it may be that he would never have taken it up again, had not the privilege which he had sought been freely accorded to him. This was done in a very engaging manner. When Mr. Anderson had told the family of the privations, perils and hardships of the campaign more particularly and fully than had been done in letters sent from the camp, his father reminded him of his former desire to enter on a course of study in prepara- tion for the ministry, and how he himself had opposed the project at that time. "But now," added the good old man, " I will object no more, for the Lord hath showed me, that if I will not spare your labors in the field for that purpose, he can, and perhaps will, deprive me of them in some other way." Mr. Anderson's desire to engage in the work of the ministry was not extinguished by what he had seen and suffered in the camp. As he went out on that perilous tour, he had perhaps vowed a vow to this effect, that if God would be with him, and bring him again to his father's house in peace, then the Lord should be his Grod, and he would serve him in the gospel of his Son, if permitted to do so. Perhaps he had seen during the campaign, more clearly than before, that atheism, profaneness, irreligion, and all manner of wicked- ness, were pouring into the land like a flood, and that the Lord of Hosts, like the general at Fort Meigs, was calling for volunteers to go forth and stem the tide. But, however these things may have been, he accepted promptly and cordially of the privilege accorded to him by his beloved parent; and after a few days of relaxation and social enjoy- ment, he entered himself as a student of Jefferson College. As the family were still in limited circumstances, he boarded with his parents, three and a half miles from Canons- burg, the site of the college, and then walked seven miles each day. The thought of having to travel so great a distance, would appall a young man of the present generation, 296 HISTORY OP JEFEEUSON COLLEGE. But, being accustomed to marches of fifteen, twenty, and thirty miles, Mr. A. made no account of the labor, and was not retarded by it. He committed to memory while walking to and from college ; or if the weather was unsuitable for carrying an open book before his eyes, he reviewed in thought the subject of study, and made himself more familiar with it. It may be that his progress in learning was furthered by his long walks, and doubtless the considerable exercise made necessary by the place in which he boarded, was the means of maintaining his bodily health and vigor, notwithstanding his close application to study. But whether his boarding so far from the college was an advantage or disadvantage, his progress was rapid. He graduated in September, 1817, a little more than four years from the time of his entrance ; and on the same day he was elected professor of languages in Jefferson College, a clear proof that the Faculty and Trustees of that Institution conferred upon him the first degree, pro imrito, and not pro gratia — in consideration of his merits, and not in the way of favor. Mr. Anderson accepted the pro- fessorship, and discharged the duties of the office for four years. During this period he also studied Theology, being admitted to the study by the Associate Presbytery of Char tiers, shortly after his election to the professorship. The Theological Seminary of the Associate church was at that time under the care of the venerable John Anderson, D. D., and was located in Service congregation^ Beaver County. The prescribed course of study occupied four sessions of five months each, the sessions commencing the 1st Monday of November, and closing on the 4th Wednesday of March. Mr. Anderson's full attendance at the Seminary was dispensed with, in considera- tion of the honorable and useful business in which he was engaged, and his ripeness in knowledge. He was at the Seminary two or three months only ; but when not there, he prosecuted his Theological studies with diligence. It is natural to presume that his labors in the college hindered his BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 297 advancement in Theology, and that his attention to Theology hindered his acceptance and usefulness in the college. But his trials were always heartily approved by the Presbytery : and in the college he was highly esteemed by his fellow professors and by the young men in attendance. Busy he must have been, and yet he found time to read a course of medicine with Dr. Jonathan Leatherrnan, of Canonsburg, by which he attained to considerable skill in medical practice, and qualified himself to be useful to his fellow men in sick- ness; as he was, in fact, wherever he went, giving counsel and medicine to good purpose and without charge. It is astonishing that a man should go through so many labors and accomplish so much in so short a time. But in this case our astonishment may be somewhat diminished by calling to mind that Mr. A. had been a student of Theology, under his minister and parents, for more than twenty years, before he was formally admitted to the study, by the Associate Presbytery. After the usual trials before the Presbytery, he was licensed to preach the everlasting gospel, in July or August of 1821 ; and as that was the work to which he had dedicated himself, he resigned his professorship at the close of the college session in September. He was fond of retire- ment and study; the incomes of the professorship were greater than he could expect from the ministry — in the view of many it was more honorable to be a learned professor in a rising college, than to be the humble pastor of a country congregation : but judging that he was called to preach Christ, Mr. Anderson conferred not with flesh and blood. He laid aside his professorship and gave himself to the work of the ministry. After preaching in the vacant congregations of Chartiers, Allegheny, and Ohio Presbyteries, he passed, in pursuance of Synodical appointment, into the Presbytery of the Carolinas, in the spring of 1822. He preached in all the vacancies of the latter Presbytery, and in all with acceptance to all the people. In July, 1822, he was unani- 298 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. mously called by the united congregations of Bethany and Steel Creek, in Mecklenburgh county, North Carolina, to he their paster. The call occasioned great thoughts of heart. Mr. Anderson had not anticipated a settlement in the Carolina Presbytery. He was not inclined, but on the contrary, averse, to a settlement in a slave State. But the people were very needy, having been without pastoral care from the time of the death of Rev. James Pringle, in 1817 ; and they were very earnest and urgent in their application to him, individually. After carefully and prayerfully considering what duty demanded in the case, he accepted their call. His ordination trials were delivered in Pisgah meeting-house, Lincoln county, North Carolina, about the 10th of Septem- ber, and being approved, he was ordained and installed at Steel Creek meeting-house, on Thursday, the 3d of Octo- ber, 1822. The writer of this sketch was in attendance on the Pres- bytery at Pisgah, while Mr. Anderson submitted his trials for ordination, and there began an acquaintance, which was afterwards cultivated on long journeys, to and from different meetings of the Associate Synod — in frequent meetings of the Carolina Presbytery — in frequent meetings to dispense the Lord's Supper — in several meetings as Delegates to the Convention of Reformed churches — in many meetings of the Theological Board, and in numberless meetings in our respec- tive habitations, both in the South and in the North. The acquaintance for which Providence afforded such ample op- portunity, soon ripened into the most intimate and cordial friendship — a friendship that was never interrupted while Mr. Anderson lived; and will not be interrupted, it is con- fidently hoped, through the numberless ages that are yet to come. At the commencement of this acquaintance and friend- ship, Mr. Anderson was in the meridian of life, being about thirty-three years of age. It seems proper therefore in this place, to give some account of his personal appearance. He BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 299 ■was a tall man, six feet and two inches in height, with a well extended frame and heavy muscular limbs. Whether standing or walking, he bore himself altogether erect, having acquired the habit of doing so, it is believed, in his military trainings. The hair of his head was quite black, and yet his complexion was uncommonly florid. His forehead was white, smooth and lofty ; his cheeks not round, but long, and rather lank ; his eyes were bright and penetrating. When much interested in what he was saying himself, or hearing from the lips of another, his eyes seemed to flash and twinkle, like bright stars in a clear night. His general appearance told at once and distinctly, that he was a man of intelligence, honesty and courage. Perhaps the camp had made an abiding impression on his person. But however this may be, there was the appearance of stern, solemn dignity, and a stranger meeting him on the highway, might reasonably have conjectured that he was the general of an army on a private jaunt. He was regarded from the first not merely by the people that called him to be their pastor, but by the ministers and people of the Presbytery in general, as a great acquisition. Such a man is indeed an acquisition in any Presbytery, at any time. But when Mr. Anderson was settled in the Pres- bytery of the Carolinas, his gifts and abilities were eminently needful. The Presbytery included three ministers, Messrs. Dixon, Mushat, and Heron, and twenty congregations scat- tered over the Western Territories of Virginia, and the two Carolinas. From the congregations of Rockbridge county, Virginia, to those in Fairfield district, South Carolina, is fully three hundred miles. But the greater part of the twenty congregations are more convenient to each other, having their locality in the contiguous counties of Lincoln, Iredell, and Mecklenburgh, North Carolina, and in the ad- joining districts of York, Lancaster, Chester, and Fairfield, South Carolina. The people were mostly Irish and Scotch, <5r their descendants ; and. as is common with these races 800 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. wherever found, they were zealous for the religion of their father. They had gone with their ministers into the union which gave rise to the Associate Reformed church, but about the year 1804, they withdrew from that ecclesiastical con- nexion, and came under the inspection of the Associate Synod of North America. The occasion was as follows : — Rev. John Mason, D. D., of New York, began in 1801 or '2, to advocate through the Christian Magazine the frequent observance of the Lord's Supper, and to arraign and condemn the customary sacramental fast days, and thanksgiving days, as not required nor warranted by the word of God. The Associate Reformed Synod of the South having met (1804 or ; 5,) in Bethany, York District, South Carolina, took up the subject of frequent communion, and after a long and animated discussion they approved and adopted the views of Dr. Mason, in all their extent. Two ministerial members of the Synod, viz : Rev. William Dixon and Rev. Peter M'Millan, and several elders protested against the reformation resolved upon, as a serious and pernicious deformation. Their remonstrances not being regarded by their brethren, they withdrew and forwarded a petition to the Associate Synod, requesting admission to fellowship with them. In answer to this petition, the £ s- sociate Synod sent two of their members to the Carolinas, viz : Rev. John Anderson, D. D., and Rev. William Wilson, with power to constitute as a Presbytery, and receive the accession of Messrs. Dixon and M'Millan, and their adherents. The appointees fulfilled their mission in 1805 or '6, and so founded the Presbytery of the Carolinas in subordination to the Associate Synod of North America. In a few months after the perfecting of this ecclesiastical revolution, Mr. became openly and grossly in- temperate, and being laid aside, the care of all the Secession congregations in the South devolved for several years on Mr. Dixon alone. At length (about the year 1810,) Mr. John Mushat, of Cambridge Presbytery, New York, accepted the BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 301 call of the congregcations of Cambridge and Stirling, in Iredell county, North Carolina, and was installed as their pastor. About the same time, Mr. Andrew Heron, from the same Presbytery of New York, was settled in the congregations of Ebenezer and Timber-ridge, Rockbridge county, Virginia. And not long after, Mr. James Pringle, licensed by the Pres- bytery of Philadelphia, undertook the pastoral charge of Bethany and Steel Creek congregations, in Mecklenburgh county, North Carolina. The measure of ministerial gifts and abilities possessed by these young ministers was very considerable — greater than falls to the lot of many who officiate acceptably and usefully. The people of the Carolina Presbytery, rejoiced in them, as bright and shiniug lights, and rejoiced in the hope that the principles for which they were witnesses would prevail in the land, and exert a happy influence. But the prospect was soon darkened. Mr. Mushat opened an Academy in Statesville, Iredell county, in 1815, and made teaching his principal business, abandoning the work of the ministry in a good measure : and in the Autumn of 1817, Mr. Pringle was by an inscrutable Providence re- moved to the land of silence. The Presbytery was brought very low, and so continued till 1821, when Mr. T. Kitchen, from the Secession church of Scotland, was settled in the pastoral charge of Shiloh and Neely's Creek congregations ; the former in Lancaster, and the latter in York district, South Carolina. This addition to the Presbytery revived the spirits of the people. But Mr. Dixon being now" far advanced in life, and compassed about with infirmities, the ministerial force of the Presbytery was altogether inadequate, and Mr. Anderson's services at the time of his settlement were greatly needed. He appears to have been fully aware from the first moment of his settlement, that he was called not to enjoy otium cum diijnitate, but to work in the Master's vineyard, and accord- ingly he gave himself to work. He took boarding with Col. 26 302 HISTORY OF JEFFEESON COLLEGE. Thomas Grier and lady, of Steel Creek, "with whom also his predecessor had lodged. The Colonel and his lady were not possessed of great wealth, but they were animated by a liberal, generous spirit, and furnished their pastor with every needful accommodation gratuitously \ accounting his presence and company a sufficient remuneration. In the pastoral charge which he had been induced to accept, Mr. Anderson found one considerable advantage, which young ministers generally lack for a season — a supply of books appropriate to his studies. His predecessor, Mr. James Pringle, during the short course of his ministry, had collected for his own use a considerable library, amounting perhaps to three hundred volumes, and having neither wife nor child to pro- vide for, he had left the whole collection to the congregation of Steel Creek, for the use of his successors in the pastorate of the congregation. As Mr. Anderson was his first succes- sor, and came not only into Mr. Pringle' s pulpit, but into his very study and bed-chamber, the books were all in their respective places as if waiting to be consulted. It is a time of severe trial when the front ranks of an army are cut down, and those in the rear march forward to fill their places, and see their brethren silent in death, or agonized with pain. It is wonderful that a man can maintain the control of himself, in such circumstances. Mr. Anderson's position was not so appalling, but it was solemn. There was a voice in the chamber, bed and books, and the voice gave utterance to the words, Ministers must die even as others. Remember that thou shalt die, and whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. Whether Mr. Anderson in fancy heard these words or not, he was attentive to the warning and counsel contained in them. He addicted him- self to meditation and prayer. He searched the Scriptures and read commentaries and systems of Theology, that he might attain to a more perfect understanding of the Scrip- tures. He labored in preparing sermons and in preaching BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. ANDERSON. 303 therti. He held quarterly diets of examination, and general meetings of the youth in the church for examination and instruction. He attended also to parochial visitation, and exhorted from house to house. As his people were scattered over a parallelogram of thirty miles in length, and twelve in breadth, the last mentioned department of labor was very tedious and exhausting, yet he persisted in it, judging that it was an important and necessary part of his work : for how else could he know the spiritual wants of his people ? and if he knew them not, how could he give to each his portion in due season ? Mr. Anderson's situation had some advantages, as has been noticed. But there were also disadvantages connected with his charge. He was subjected to a great deal of labor in the way of traveling. Each tour to Bethany, to which he repaired every second Sabbath, was a journey of forty miles, and if called to visit' the sick, or engaged in visiting from house to house, the journey was increased fifteen or twenty miles, making a circuit of more than a thousand miles in the course of the year. In addition to this large domestic traveling, he had long journeys of a more public nature, in attending Presbytery, meeting with brethren to assist in dispensing the Lord's Supper, supplying vacant congregations with preaching, repairing to the meetings of Synod, &c. These public jaunts being added to his common domestic traveling, the whole would amount to twenty-five hundred, or perhaps three thousand miles per annum ; involving a great deal of labor, and much loss of time. Mr. Anderson soon found that traveling on horse-back subjected him to febrile excitement, and other unpleasant symptoms. With the view of preventing the irritation, he furnished himself with a vehicle ; the remedy was not effectual, but still he went on with his work, and sought relief by other means. In the campaign of 1812, an attack being threatened, the army of which Mr. Anderson was a 304 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. part, was put in order for the battle. Mr. Anderson being a large man and of reputation for courage, the officer in command singled him out, and calling him from the rear, where he was when the alarm was given, conducted him to the front rank and stationed him there. In like manner the Presbytery continually assigned to him the very front of ministerial exposure and hardship, and yet he did not pray to be excused because he had already done more than others, nor because the labor and exposure would probably be prejudicial to his health and comfort. Some one should go to this place and the other to dispense the Lord's Supper, or to moderate a call, or to install a minister, or to share in the deliberations of Synod : and the question being raised, who will go 1 often did Mr. Anderson volunteer as at Fort Meigs, or quietly submit to the appointment of Presbytery under a sense of duty. To convince his hearers of their lost, undone estate by nature, and persuade them to trust in Christ for salvation, and to take his holy precepts for their guide and directory, was that at which Mr. Anderson aimed in all his ministra- tions, whether at home or abroad. He desired and endeavored to bring about a reformation in accordance with the word of God, and in conformity with the attainments of the church of Scotland in her happiest days. In carrying out this design, he preached the truth with simplicity and plainness, and assailed error directly and boldly, and yet with such calm dignity and scriptural force, that hearers who had been of a different opinion were not exasperated. His labors had not all the effect which he desired, but they were not in vain. His own members were generally awakened and stirred up to give more earnest heed to the things belonging to their peace. Many individuals were turned from irreligion and ungodliness ; family worship was established in many dwel- lings ; the Sabbath was observed with increased solemnity • intemperance and profaneness were abandoned, or practiced BIOGRAPHICAL SKET LI OP DR. ANDERSON. 305 clandestinely, and with shame. Mr. Anderson's influence was felt in the neighboring congregations. Mr. William Dixon, the father and founder of the Presbytery, a man of earnest, solid piety, had some way fallen into the practice of baptizing the children of parents who gave attention to the preaching of the word, though they did not seek fellowship with Christ and his people, in the use of the Lord's Supper. With much kindness and with great respect, Mr. Anderson remonstrated against this practice of the venerable father as disorderly and pernicious in its effects, and his remonstrance was effectual. In some of the neighboring congregations, members of the Masonic Fraternity were church members in full communion at the time of Mr. Anderson's settlement in the Presbytery. But in the course of a few years such members, and chiefly through Mr. Anderson's influence, were called before their session and required to dissolve their connexion with the Masonic body. Most of them did so, and such as refused to comply were suspended from the fellowship of the church, as the discipline of the Associate body requires. The leaven of sound doctrine had then by various means made its way into some of the contiguous congregations. Mr. Andersen desired it to spread quickly through all the congregations of the Presbytery, and through the land, and with this view be moved the Presbytery in the Spring of 1824, to prepare and emit a pastoral letter. The Presbytery adopted the motion and appointed Mr. Anderson himself to prepare the contemplated letter. He accepted the appointment and prepared the draught of a letter, which being submitted was approved and published towards the close of the year. The original manuscript of this paper in Mr. Anderson's handwriting is before me. It is entitled, a pastoral letter by tlie Associate Presbytery of the Carol i?ias, to the people under their care. As it was the declared design of this paper to promote reformation according to the holy Scriptures, the author sets out with the position that true 2G* 806 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. religion was in a low and languishing condition : he sustains this position by some instances and proof, and then addresses himself to the work of correcting errors in practice and in principle. Under the former head he treats of the great evil of intemperance, at that time extensively prevalent in the land, and quite too common among the members of the church. He passes on to the sin of profaning the Lord's day — the sin of neglecting family worship and family instruction — the sin of profaning gospel ordinances — the sin of contemning Christ and his salvation, by declining to profess the faith and partake of the holy sacraments. Under the second general head the author notices not the principal errors in Theology, but some of those popular erroneous sentiments, which in his judgment have a direct tendency to • harden the hearts of professors in a course of defection from the truth and cause of Jesus Christ. The errors particularly noticed and refuted are the following : "We should not disturb the peace of the church by con- tending for divine truth and ordinances.- — Error introduced or held by a professed believer should be spared.— Though we may oppose essential errors, we should not contend about the non-essential. — -Controversy genders strife and displeasure among Christians, and it is good for nothing else.* — Every man must answer for himself, and therefore, it is officious to trouble ourselves about the mistakes of others. — It is little difference what our sentiments are, if our practice be correct. — If we be sincere, it matters not about our faith or principles. —It is impossible to obtain an agreement among professed Christians, and we are therefore not to expect it, but to admit to the com- munion of the church those whom we in charity judge to be Christians, whatever their religious sentiments may be," &c. The several matters treated of in the letter, are handled in a plain, simple manner, as utility required, and yet with energy. Eloquence of diction is wauling, for it BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. ANDERSON. 307 would have hindered the object intended. But sensible persons who may take up the pamphlet, will soon be satis- fied that the pen was guided by a discerning mind, well stored with knowledge, and by a sincere honest heart. The following passage respecting the duty of family worship is very forcible, and shows an extensive acquaintance with the word : " The matter of the diet// being plain, that it should be performed by families, we have abundant evidence. David returned to bless his house, 1 Chron. xvi : 43 ; Joshua resolved to serve the Lord with his house, Joshua xxiv : 15 ; Job sanctified his family, and thus did Job continually, Job i : 5 ; Abraham was commended for his fidelity ki this matter, Gen. xviii : 19 ; Noah built an altar for his family, Gen. viii : 20 ; the patriarchs built altars wherever they resided, Gen. xii : 7, and xxxv : 1, 3, 7. Scripture is not silent respecting the neglect of this duty, Jeremiah x : 25 : — 'Pour out thy fury on the heathen that know thee not, and on the families that call not on thy name/ Would such a denunciation have been uttered for the neglect of family devotions, if God had not required the performance ? That this duty should be performed daily, morning and evening, we have evidence from the appointment of the morning and evening sacrifices and services of old. Though the ceremonies of Divine worship have been changed, the worship itself has not. Former institutions of Divine worship remain in full force as to their substance and spirit, the ceremonial and typical form only being abolished. The appointment of morning and evening for Divine service was not typical — it was moral and substantial, Psalm xcii : 1, 2. The appointment of the sacrifices at the Temple was not a substitute for the moral service of the people, but a requisition of it throughout the tribes of Israel in their families, Luke i: 9, 10; 1 Kings viii: 37^10. Observe therefore and revere the Scripture admonitions on this sub- ject; imitate in your practice the examples recommended, 308 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. and you will find conformity to them and family devotions the same thing." The following passage on the delicate subject of instructing slaves, shows at once the courage and prudence of the author and his zeal for the glory of Christ and the salvation of men : " On the subject of family education and family devotion, permit us to lay before you your obligations respecting your slaves : we do not detain you with admonitions to feed and clothe them : we are happy to say that the necessity of such admonitions is precluded as far as our observation extends. Nor is it our admonition at present to set them at unconditional liberty under present circumstances.* Nor is it our present design to discuss their natural right to liberty, or the absurdity of the supposition that this was ever forfeited by their suffering theft and sale by a barbarous conqueror, or the impossibility that a pecuniary compensation to one who never had a moral right over the person and liberty of the slave, should ever procure such a right to the purchaser ; all which we hope we have no occasion to urge. Our present design is to urge what the law of God and sound reason testify, and your own consciences must acknowledge to be a duty— a present and imperative, but much neglected duty — the religious education of your slaves." After obviating several objections to the duty, and show- ing by several Scriptures that the education of the poor afflicted creatures is an important duty, the author proceeds to urge to the performance in the following terms : " Your slaves have been taken from a land of moral darkness to a land of gospel light ; but with what advantage to them, if in the midst of light they walk in darkness ? Are they con* tented without gospel light ? So are your children, so are all mankind by nature. But by the means of grace, and the * That it is your duty to encourage a spirit of regular and well con- ducted emancipation, through the organ of civil government or otherwiso, we do assert. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 309 blessing of the Spirit, the unwilling are made willing ; you cannot expect to find them willing in ignorance. Imitate then your Lord and Master, who sought the lost sheep. If you have the gospel and have tasted that the Lord is gracious, would you monopolize such a favor ? Would you not be ready to say even to your servant, taste and see that the Lord is good : come, I will teach you the fear of the Lord ? Should not love to Christ induce you to extend the means of grace which you have enjoyed, in order to gain souls to him ? How could you address one of them on a death bed, too igno- rant to understand you ? How could you put up a petition for the dying and expect a gracious hearing, when you have withheld that knowledge, which the Holy Spirit blesses for the salvation of the soul ? How can you see them approach their dreadful end, about to launch into eternal misery, and incapable of receiving instruction or consolation ? How can you reflect on their end, without remorse and horror, remem- bering that they were committed to your care for instruction and government, and you betrayed your trust, using them only for your temporal interest. Brethren, ponder well these real- ities. Try these things by the word of God, and see what verdict conscience must return/' From that part of the let- ter which treats of popular erroneous sentiments, a single paragraph is presented. " The position that we ought to admit those whom we judge to be Christians is plausible, but unfounded. The man is to be admonished as a brother whom we exclude from our communion, 2 Thess. iii : 14, 15. If we make grace in the heart the rule of admission, the door is set open for every deceiver — the purity of the church is denied to be an object of her regard, and the way is opened for the introduction of every error. According to this rule the gospel minister is necessitated either to reprove errors and sins from the pulpit, which he has indulged in admission to communion, or to prove unfaithful to his trust, by keeping back part of the counsel of God. Where truth is neglected 310 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. and forgotten, piety must decay. How often does the Psalmist speak of his love to God's truth, and of his delight in it. But is it consistent with a holy love to Divine truth, with a knowledge of it and a sense of its importance, to neglect or yield it, because our neighbor loves it not, or does not believe it?" The pastoral letter, at the contents of which we have glanced, was addressed to church members and others come to maturity of understanding. But he that feeds the sheep should feed the lambs also. The great Shepherd of the sheep requires this, John xxi : 15, and true policy requires it. That reformation must be ephemeral which overlooks the instruction and improvement of the rising generation. Our life on earth is but a shadow. The congregation that includes a hundred members, may, after the lapse of twenty years, have the same number or the double of it, but it will be found, on a careful comparison of the lists, that not more than one fourth of the original members are still remaining as compo- nent parts of the society. The youthful must therefore be the subjects of any improvement which it is desired to perpetuate. Assured of this, and recollecting that it is the express will of God that the fathers should make known his testimony and his law to their children, that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children, Mr. Ander- son employed his leisure moments in preparing a system of questions on the Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Assembly. He intended by this work to assist parents in catechizing their children ; but his principal object was to excite young persons seeking after the knowledge of Divine things, to think and inquire after the meaning of the words which they were accustomed to repeat. And accordingly his questions were mere questions. No answer was appended to them. Nothing at all was added to his questions, except a reference to some text of Scripture, which the pupil was BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 311 under the necessity of hunting up and considering together with the text of the Shorter Catechism, that he might ascer- tain and return the true answer. When Mr. Anderson began this work, he perhaps intended nothing more than to prepare himself for catechizing with care the youth of his own charge. But when he had gone over the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, in the manner that has been noticed, he judged that the work might be useful to congregations and families generally, and accordingly he gave it to the public in the summer of 1826. With the questions and answers of the Shorter Catechism in large type, and Mr. Anderson's questions in smaller type, the work constitutes a volume of about two hundred pages, duodecimo. The edition published was small, comprising but eight hundred or perhaps a thousand copies, all of which were sold in a short time, except such copies as Mr. Ander- son was pleased to distribute gratuitously. To what extent this little work was profitable to the people of the southern churches, it is not easy to say. The best means of instruc- tion will not be attended with happy results, if they are neglected, and catechisms are too often treated with neglect. The writer, who about that time was commencing his minis- try in the same Presbytery, is constrained to acknowledge that Mr. Anderson's Catechism was very useful to him, and in his judgment it is well calculated to assist both parents and children in the acquisition of saving knowledge. He that watereth, shall be watered himself, and no doubt Mr. Anderson was greatly benefited by his own labors. Whether he excogitated the questions, or collected them from the writings of others, on the same points, his writing down tho questions, and searching out and considering the texts appended, must have resulted in increasing his familiarity with the principles of sacred truth, and with the Scripture testimonies on which they depend. The nature of the work precluded the display of keen discernment and of learned research, and all that is claimed for Mr. Anderson on the 312 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. score of it, is that his heart was so set on cluing good, that he condescended to become the teacher of babes, and having devised a means of aiding their stulies, he carried it into execution with no inconsiderable labor, being excited and animated by no other motive besides the desire and hope of contributing to the improvement of many. About the time that he began to prepare his Catechism, Mr. James Lyle, a licentiate of the Presbytery of Ohio, was ordained and installed as pastor of the congregations of Smyrna and Little River, the former in Chester, and the latter in Fairfield district, South Carolina. This addition to the ministerial force of the Presbytery, inured to Mr. Anderson's advantage, allowing him more time to devote to his Catechism and other studies, than he could otherwise have had. From the labor of traveling to supply the vacancies, he obtained additional relief by the ordination and installment of Mr. W. M. M'Elwee, as pastor of the congregations of Tirzah and Sharon, both in York district, South Carolina. The ordina- tion took place at Sharon, on Thursday, the 1st day of April, 1827; Mr. Anderson preaching the sermon from John xxi : 15, 17 ; and leading in the prayer of consecration. In two or three weeks after this solemnity, Mr. Anderson, accompa- nied by the writer, set out to attend the meeting of the Asso- ciate Synod in the city of Pittsburgh. The journey was long, (the distance to Pittsburgh being five hundred and sixty or seventy miles,) and tedious, for there were no rail-roads in those days, nor even stage coaches on the required line : it was performed on horse-back, and occupied between ten and eleven weeks. But though the journey was tedious and wearisome, there was one circumstance of a redeeming char- acter. It afforded abundant opportunities for friendly con- ference. Of the talk indulged in during that journey, one item is distinctly remembered. We were returning to the South. After many miles of wearisome travel among the defiles and steeps of the Blue Ridge, we mounted the last BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. ANDERSON. 313 ana loftiest eminence, from which we have an extensive view of the Atlantic slope, in appearance a vast plain covered with living green, and at that juncture redolent with the flowers of the season. The writer felt and expressed delight in see- ing once more the sunny South. Mr. Anderson seemed sad, and said in reply, that it appeared to him, to be a dry and parched land. How is that ; are you not satisfied with your location ? He answered, the South has never seemed to me as my home, but the land of my exile ; and then went on to state a number of particular objections, of which the princi- pal was the firm establishment of the peculiar institution. This item of conversation is related for the purpose of show- ing that though Mr. Anderson had been living in the South for several years, he was still a northern man in sentiment and feeling. We are apt to sympathize with the people among whom we dwell, and to fall in with their usages and way of thinking, and it has been supposed by some, that Mr. Anderson, by living in the South for a number of years, learned to sympathize with slave-holders, and with slavery itself. The supposition does him great injustice. He sym- pathized indeed with the Christian people of the South and cared for their souls, but the country he disliked, and the system of slave-holding he detested as an incubus on Church and State, and the fell destroyer of thousands. Not a great while after the conversation related above, during perhaps the following winter, slave-holding being the subject of conversa- tion, Mr. Anderson declared to the writer, that were he the father of a family and the possessor of real estate in the Caro- linas, he would regard it as his duty to prepare his will, and provide in the will that his family could have no use of his property, except in the way of selling it and conveying the proceeds beyond the limits of the slave-holding States. In the same conversation, or in some other about that time, hav- ing asked Mr. Anderson if his opposition to slave-holding was the reason of his continuing unmarried, he said in reply, 27 314 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. that his opposition to slave-holding was one reason, and a principal reason, that he was unwilling to be more firmly tied to the South than he was at present. In the spring of 1828 Mr. Anderson changed his lodgings from the hospitable mansion of Col. Grier, in Steel Creek, to the dwelling of Mr. John Wilson, in the congregation of Bethany. There was no dissension between Mr. Anderson and the Colonel or his family ; nor were they weary of him, or he of them. Mr. Wilson was one of the elders of the Bethany branch, and remarkable for tender, fervent piety. His partner and children partook of the same spirit. Their dwelling and their company were inviting. But a regard for his health was the sole motive by which Mr. Anderson was prompted to make the exchange. He had been for some time troubled with febrile excitement, with want of appetite, and other symptoms of a diseased liver. The Colonel's habita- tion stood on a low, damp plain, two miles eastward of the Catawba river. Mr. Anderson thought that his location was in some measure the cause of his illness, and promised him- self better health, in the more elevated site occupied by the Wilson family. The Associate Synod of 1828 met in the city of Philadel- phia, in the month of May. Neither Mr. Anderson nor any other member of the Presbytery of the Carolinas was in attendance, except the Rev. A. Heron, of Rockbridge county, Virginia. Measures were commenced in that Synodical meet- ing, which proved fatal to the congregations of the Carolina Presbytery— measures which might, perhaps, have been pre- vented, had Mr. Anderson been present. Mr. John K., a licentiate of the Presbytery of Miami, having spent the greater part of the preceding winter in the vacancies of the South, went up to the meeting ; and though not entitled to a seat in Synod, he exerted a considerable influence. In con- versation with the members, he told that the brethren in the South had many slaves, and that very few of the slaves were BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. ANDERSON. 315 taught to read the holy Scriptures — that hardly any of them were church members — that in most of the families they were not brought iuto the house in the time of family worship — that the Act of 1811, in regard to slave-holding, was inopera- tive, &c. These reports, which were but too true, being handed from one to another, the attention of Synod was called to the subject of slave-holding by a particular member ; and after some discussion, Synod appointed a committee to inquire and report at the next meeting, whether further action in regard to slave-holding, was called for ; and if in their judgment further action was called for, what that action should be. Mr. Anderson, though not present, was appointed one of the committee. The other members were the Rev. James Adams, of Green county, Ohio, and the Rev. David Carson, of Blount county, Tennessee- At the same meeting of Synod, Mr. Adams was appointed for five or six. months on what was then called the Missouri Mission ; and Mr. Anderson, with the view, perhaps, of allowing the committee an opportunity of meeting and consulting together, was appointed to supply Mr. Adams' pulpit for three months. Shortly after informa- tion of these appointments had reached the South, which was about the 1st of July, Mr. Anderson, in his new habitation, was taken with a severe bilious fever. His surviving the attack seemed for some time to be very doubtful ; and his traveling, according to the appointment of Synod, was thought to be altogether impracticable. In answer to the prayers of many, the merciful Disposer of all things was pleased, how- ever, to spare him, and to bring him up again from the gates of death. When he had regained a measure of strength, though still weak and pallid, he set out on horse-back, on a long journey of about eight hundred miles, in going out, and as many in returning. He started the last week of August, and returned towards the close of the year, much invigorated, though he had experienced several relapses in the course of 316 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. his tour. Of his acceptableness to the brethren among whom he had been laboring, he was followed with a proof which was far from being pleasant to his many friends in the South. From Xenia to Massie's Creek, where he had preached statedly for three months, is but six miles. The Associate congrega- tion of Xenia was at that time without a pastor. Many of the members resorted to Massie's Creek, and heard Mr. Anderson from Sabbath to Sabbath during his continuance there : all heard him occasionally in their own place of wor- ship. Satisfied with his deportment, and with his ministerial gifts and qualifications, they petitioned the Presbytery of Miami for the moderation of a call, and concurred unanimously in calling Mr. Anderson to become their pastor. The call having been sustained by the Presbytery of Miami, was transmitted, in February or March, to the Presbytery of the Carolinas, for presentation. This proof of the high esteem entertained for Mr. Anderson by the brethren of the West was unpleasant to the people of the South, not because they thought him unworthy of esteem, but because they esteemed him so highly, and feared that the call from Xenia would issue in his removal. For this apprehension there were ample grounds. It was generally known that Mr. Anderson's health was not good, and that he attributed his bad health to the influence of the climate. It was known, too, that he did not regard with favor the 'peculiar institution. The writer, to whom Mr. Anderson had declared his dissatisfaction with the climate, and his dislike of slavery, frequently and earnestly, had scarcely a doubt that he would accept the call to Xenia, and be lost to the southern churches. The day of decision came round. The Presbytery of the Carolinas met at Steel Creek, on the first Tuesday of April. The members of the congregation of Steel Creek were generally in attendance. The people of Xenia were heard by their papers. The con- gregations of Bethany and Steel Creek were heard through their commissioners. Regarding the case as important and BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. ANDERSON. 317 solemn in its consequences, the Presbytery directed a mem- ber to lead in prayer. The member designated prayed with tears and sobs, and all present were deeply affected. After prayer, the call was presented for acceptance or rejection. Mr. Anderson arose and announced, to the great relief and joy of all. That us he did not see that it was his duty to leave his present post, he declined the call to Xenia. From this account of the proceedings of that day, it may be inferred that Mr. Anderson reciprocated the affection of his southern friends, and was controlled in declining the call to Xenia by his feelings alone. Had the Presbytery and people of his charge manifested coldness and indifference, it is indeed prob- able that his determination would have been different from what it was. But from notes found among his papers, it appears that he had solemnly and prayerfully considered the matter of his removal before the Presbytery met, and had come to a determination respecting it. In these times, ministers transfer themselves from one place to another so frequently, and with so little apparent conside- ration, that the ministry is fallen under reproach as a trade, which certain persons follow in one place or another, as seems most advantageous to themselves. It is but too probable that many ministers, in their removals, do not seriously consider whether they are following the line of duty or not. But Mr. Anderson examines carefully, as we would naturally expect a man of God to do. In his argumentation with himself, two principles are assumed ; the one is, that it is sometimes the duty of a gospel minister to change the field of his labors ; the other, that neither usefulness nor comfort can be reasona- bly expected unless the change be made in accordance with duty, or the will of God. Having placed himself on this foundation, doubtless a solid one, Mr. Anderson lifted his eyes to heaven, looking to the great Counselor for light to show, and grace to choose the path of duty. And besides praying for light, he endeavored to open his eyes and see, 27* 818 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. noticing and weighing the arguments pro and con. Anib-ig the considerations which he thought worthy of his attention, it is remarkable that there is no one respecting his own incli- nations, and no one that has any reference to his worldly interest or credit. It seems to have been his judgment that such considerations should be disregarded in ordinary cases of the kind ; and, beyond doubt, his determination to con- tinue in the South was contrary to his inclination, as when he determined to tarry longer at Fort Meigs for the defence of the place. During his tour to the West, Mr. Anderson met and con ferred with the other members of the Committee on the sub ject of slave-holding. He had no angry disputations with the brethren, whom he esteemed very highly, yet he did not accord with them in judgment. Messrs. Adams and Carson agreed on a report to the Synod of 1829, in which Mr. Ander- son could not concur. That the reader may understand how the parties stood, it is necessary to state that the Synod had carefully examined the subject of slave-holding in 1811, and had, after many prayers, concluded that slave-holding is a moral evil — that slave-holders in the Associate Church be required to emancipate their slaves, if the State in which they live admit of emancipation — that if the State forbid emanci- pation within its limits, masters may hold their slaves, not making merchandise of them, not ruling them with rigor, but with a parental sway, feeding and clothing them comfortably, instructing them in the principles of our holy religion, and treating them as though free, by giving them a reward for their work. The report of the committee went further than this. It admits — " 1. That children born in a stato of slavery, may be law- fully required to serve, with the consent of their parents, for a term of years sufficient to remunerate their masters for their BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 01* DR. ANDERSON. 319 support and education ; and also, without the consent of their parents, if remuneration can be had in no other way. " 2. That persons of any color may, for their crimes, or for the payment of a just debt, be lawfully sold into a state of servitude for any term of years, or for life, yet not so as to affect posterity. " 3. That persons may be lawfully held in a state of servi- tude for a term of years, or for life, by virtue of a compact into which they have voluntarily entered. "4. That persons who are held as slaves by the laws of the civil community, may be lawfully purchased, at their own request, and their services used by the purchaser, for a term of years, or for life, according to the agreement between the purchaser and the purchased. " 5. That persons who have been held as slaves may, for a term of years, be detained in a state of servitude, according to a rule of Church or State, tending to secure more effectu- ally their emancipation, and their own or the community's future safety and prosperity." The report maintains that the holding of human beings in bondage, is in all other cases sinful, and concludes with the following resolutions : 11 1. That slavery be considered by this Synod a sin, not to be tolerated in any of the members of our communion. " 2. That the selling of a slave, as transferable property, by any person in our communion, is censurable. "3. That the holding of a slave, in any case not specified in the above few particulars, i3 censurable. " 4. That measures be taken to procure the incorporation of a company, composed of certain persons to be chosen by Synod, for the purpose of legalizing the emancipation of slaves held by our members, (the duty of such incorporation to be explained in detail hereafter,) and that a committee be appointed to make arrangements to this effect." 820 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE* These were the views of the majority of the committee, in which, as has been noticed, Mr. Anderson did not concur. Wherein he differed, and for what reasons, will be shown here- after. At present I will merely state that Dr. John Ander- son, whom Mr. Abraham Anderson had been accustomed from his youth to revere as a ripe scholar and a devout Christian, had vindicated that toleration of slave-holding granted in the Act of 1811 by several considerations. Dr. John Anderson had taught that private citizens should bear many hardships and wrongs, rather than disturb the peace and harmony of the society in which they live j and as citizens should pursue this meek and quiet course, so they should allow their colored neighbors to suffer wrong and temporal hardships, rather than disturb the peace and order of the community in attempts to relieve therm He had also taught that a private individual is not to be faulted for withholding civil rights and privileges from another, when it is not in his power to confer those rights and privileges on the other. These sentiments Mr. Ander- son had imbibed in early life. He was by education, and perhaps by natural temperament, a conservative, and there' fore slow to believe that the new wine is better than the old. It may be added, that living in the midst of the slave terri- tory, Mr. Anderson was more fully acquainted with the obsta- cles in the way of emancipation than the other members of the committee could well be. They no doubt thought that their project could be carred into effect with advantage to the southern churches ; but Mr. Anderson was fully apprized that the remedy, if applied, would prove the ruin of all the con- gregations belonging to the Presbytery of the Carolinas. Mr. Anderson did not attend the meeting of Synod in 1829 $ and his objections not being known, the report of the majority of the committee was, without any considerable opposition, adopted as an overture, and handed down to the Presbyteries and Sessions for their judgment* - The overture came to the South with the minutes of 1829, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 321 and was read by several ministers (if not all) to their congre- gations, though the public reading of such a paper was con- trary to the law of the land. Many Seceders disapproved of the reading, and some of the citizens threatened the enforce- ment of the law, but no minister was molested. The latter part of the summer of 1829 Mr. Anderson spent in Monroe county, Virginia, seeking health in the use of the mineral waters of that district. He returned before the meeting of Presbytery in October, somewhat improved. The attention of the Presbytery, at that meeting, was turned to the overture. After some remarks about the course which it was incumbent on the Presbytery to pursue, it was resolved unanimously to remonstrate against the overture, and Mr. Anderson was appointed to draught the remonstrance. In the course of the winter Mr. Anderson prepared a paper for that purpose, which, having been read in the spring meeting of 1830, the Presbytery adopted without altering so much as a word, and ordered the remonstrance to be forwarded and sub- mitted to the Synod, to meet in the city of Philadelphia in vhe month of May. The writer carried up, and presented the document, and observed the impression produced by it. All attended while the paper was being read with evident interest. Irritation and dissatisfaction were visible in the countenances of some. When the reading was finished, a talented and influential member pronounced the remonstrance a very able document, said that he knew who was its author, and moved that a committee should be appointed to answer it. Others objected, and it was finally concluded to publish the remon- strance with the minutes of Synod, and to defer further action on the subject of slave-holding till the next meeting. A great majority of the ministers and members of the Asso- ciate Church were, as they are still, earnestly opposed to slave-holding ; and as he who opposes a particular method of removing an evil, is apt to be regarded by the earnest advo- cates of that method as favoring the evil and desiring the 322 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. continuance of it, Mr. Anderson fell, in consequence of his able paper, under suspicion and reproach among the brethren in the North. It was concluded by many that the South had seduced him, and that he was bound with chains to the iron car of the slave-holders. With the view of vindicating his reputation as an anti- slavery man, and showing at the same time his candor and courtesy in reasoning with opponents, and his great ability in handling a knotty, difficult question, the following extracts from the remonstrance are submitted for consideration : " Far be it from us, (see minutes of 1830, page 35,) to defend either the principle or the practice of slavery, or to endeavor to effect in Synod even an unnecessary delay in removing the evil. Involuntary servitude is a sin, a heinous sin, and indefensible by the laws of nature or of revelation. It involves the nation in guilt whenever permitted by the government, but especially when it is maintained by legisla- tive authority, and the chains of slavery are riveted by iniqui- tous laws. We are convinced that to our country, and especially to the slave States, slavery threatens moral, religious, and political ruin — that the native influence of this practice, and the judgments of G-od for this sin, have already produced many bitter fruits, and threaten much more — that even tem- poral happiness cannot long exist in the present state of things. We believe it is the duty of civil government to adopt mea- sures for emancipation, and we view with grief and alarm their apathy on this subject. Infatuation has supervened ; and providential threatenings only rouse our legislators, aa Pharaoh of old, to multiply the chains of slavery and bind them faster. " It may now be asked, after all these concessions, can you hesitate a moment about the duty of adopting the articles of the overture ? We reply, as soon as the Synod shall find a practicable and lawful plan of emancipation, let these articles be adopted ; but not till then. Sinful as slavery is, it is not BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. ANDERSON. 323 more so than a plan of emancipation might be made to be. It is not every measure of escaping a sin that will acquit us of guilt. Shall we presume that our good intentions will justify whatever measures rashness, or mistake, might lead us to adopt ? Shall we do evil, that good may come ? The Synod, in 1811, were as anxious to effect the complete aboli- tion of slavery as they are now; and nothing, we believe, but insurmountable obstacles, or at least what they judged such, led them to adopt the measures they did. If Divine Providence has since opened a door which they did not enjoy, or given us additional light, let us promptly improve our advantages. But it is possible we have lost sight of those obstacles which then checked their laudable designs, and obstacles which yet exist in all their force. It cannot, there- fore, be improper to take a view of these impediments, that if they cannot be surmounted or removed, we may wait for Divine Providence to open our way ; and if they can, that we may intelligently and deliberately lay our plans for doing so. " In laying before Synod the difficulties to which we have alluded, we shall consider, in order, three methods of emanci- pation, which, as far as our knowledge extends, are the only methods that have been proposed, or that occur to us as pos- sible : — Colonization, transfer of the slaves to a free State, and emancipation at home. " The Colonization Society might afford some aid in effect- ing our object. But — (1.) The funds of that Society are as yet inadequate to such an extensive operation as we propose. (2.) Though some slave-holders might avail themselves of the privileges of that Society by advancing funds for the transportation of their own slaves, yet many masters could not command such funds. (3.) It is a condition with the Society, that the slaves be willing to go to their colony. Now a few might be willing to go, and if funds could be obtained, they might be emancipated. But some who are willing to go, could not be sent for want of funds ; and those who are 324 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. unwilling must, on this plan, remain in slavery. This method, therefore, cannot effect the complete abolition of slavery in our communion. " The second plan of emancipation is to transfer the slaves to the free States. This plan is also attended with difficul- ties : " 1st. By this plan, slaves would not be free ; they would be governed, but not represented ; fixed by force and power in the lowest grade of society. " 2d. Many masters, who can support their slaves under their care, could not give them any means of subsistence, if put away. " 3d. There is reason to fear that such an influx of colored population into the free States as this measure proposes, would be prohibited. "4th. Many masters would not be able to furnish the funds necessary to carry their slaves to a free State. Without some provision, therefore, by Synod to meet this difficulty, this method of emancipation must of necessity fail of effecting our object. " 5th. Though a master could afford the funds necessary to transfer his slaves to a free State, but would deny his ability, by what means could the church reduce her rules to practice ? Could she undertake to examine the minuitae of his estate, pronounce that he is able to transport his slaves at his own expense, and require him to do so under pain of suspension or excommunication ? Synod could not, after aiding one master in emancipating his slaves, command another to do it at his own expense. " 6th. Many slaves are aged and infirm, and in most cases their masters could not provide for them without the services of the younger slaves. " 7th. Emancipation would not only be attended with loss, but in some cases with bankruptcy. It would place some masters on the pauper list, and make them dependent on the BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 325 county funds. This might subject our measures to partial, and even to utter defeat by the State. " 8 th. Many slaves are of such a character as not to war- rant their masters to comply with the requisitions of free States in order to their admission ; and as masters cannot be compelled to give their slaves freedom under this condi- tion, such slaves must remain in servitude. "9th. Many slaves would not be willing to go to Africa, or even to a free State. Not a few would be found of this description. To oblige them to go would be to interfere with their just rights, and still further curtail what the practice of slavery has curtailed too far. It would impose a punish- ment which the case does not seem to warrant. They would account it banishment to be removed, and would prefer perpetual slavery. To banish them from the soil and climate where all their endeared associations are, — to banish them for no crime, and when the necessity of the case is not imperious, would be substituting cruelty and injustice for kindness. They must by this measure be separated, not only from an endeared home, perhaps an endeared master, (the case is not uncommon,) but also from their relatives, when these are divided among several masters, as they generally are, and among masters who would not emancipate, and from whom the emancipator could not buy. It may, perhaps, be urged, in the spirit of the 3d preliminary of the overture, that those slaves who are unwilling to go to Africa, or elsewhere out of the slave States, having now the offer of freedom, may bind themselves to servitude, and the master be innocent. We reply, we think indeed the master would be innocent; not because he is by this compact free from the practice of slavery, but because, in taking this step, he can do no better. Therefore, though the master be innocent in such a compact, (the maxim, Of two moral evils, choose neither, to the contrary notwithstanding,) yet an object contemplated in the overture, the complete abolition of 28 326 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. slavery in our communion, is not obtained. The slave, by whatever form of bond he obligates himself to his master while the State does not recognise his freedom, is in his master's power as much as ever, — he is a slave by the law of the State, and deprived of all his civil rights of which he was deprived before. He is, with all his offspring, liable to seizure for his mastex*'s debts, and liable to be claimed by legatees, even though by will and testament declared free in the State. Even though the master had bequeathed him privileges and immunities which the laws do not recognise, they all pass for nothing. These considerations show an inconsistency between the first five preliminaries in the over- ture, and a proposition which requires the Synod to take measures for putting it out of the power of any of our members to hold a slave in such a state, that he may be transferred as the property of the holder. All the cases admitted in these preliminaries leave the slave transferable, by either the master or the State. " The third method of removing slavery from our com- munion, is emancipation in the State. Here we shall offer but one objection, which is, that the laws of the slave-holding States forbid such emancipation. A slave cannot be made free in a slave State. This plan, therefore, under existing laws, is impracticable, and must be rejected. But here we meet with a last resort, and if correct, an effectual measure for the complete abolition of slavery in our communion. It is proposed in the overture that if the laws of the State have cut off a rational prospect of liberating the slave, either im- mediately, or at any period nearly approaching, it then becomes the imperious duty of the individual slave-holder to free his own hands of the sin by relinquishing his unjust claim, and leaving teh guilt of it on the community. By relinquishing his unjust claim, we understand laying no claim whatsoever to the slave, — literally manumitting him. If this be not the meaning of the sentence quoted, we see no BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCII OP DR. ANDERSON. 327 meaning in it at all. We are sorry to see this proposition seriously advanced ; and still more sorry should we be, with all our abhorrence of slavery, to see it reduced to practice. We do consider it, under the circumstances with which slavery is at present connected, at war with the rules of morality. But as it may not appear to all as exceptionable as it does to us, we shall examine it more particularly. " Let it be remembered that the inevitable consequence of quitting all claim to the slave, and leaving him in the slave State, which the pi-oposition supposes, is perpetual slavery for him and his posterity under existing laws. Let us then examine the operation of this measure. " 1st. The measure proposed would confer no degree of favor on the slave ; it would not restore his rights, render justice, nor amend his circumstances. " 2d. The measure proposed would be a profligate waste of the powers and privileges which slave-holders possess. All slave-holders have the power to use their slaves more humanely than the laws compel them to do, and more humanely than they are generally used throughout the slave States. They can teach, while others raise them in ignorance ; they can feed and clothe, while others starve them. And if ever a time should come when the liberation of slaves would be possible, though not required by the State, by this one rash act in adopting the measure proposed, the power of benefiting the slave would be for ever lost. Does not moral justice require us to be more frugal of our power, than to throw it away to no purpose ? " 3d. By the measure proposed we should be doing positive injury to the slave, exposing him to oppression, starvation, &c. " 4th. The proposition we are opposing virtually counter- acts the second article of the overture, which forbids the sale of slaves. If we deliver over our servant to perpetual slavery, as this measure proposes, we do all that is evil in selling him. 328 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. " 5th. By following the method proposed, we will not free our own hands of. the sin of slavery. How shall we free our hands of this sin, by exposing our servants and their offspring to inevitable and perpetual slavery ? Neither the laws of God nor of man, as far as we have discovered, have made a difference in the guilt of delivering and of receiving a stolen article, unless perhaps they furnish an inference, that the first is more criminal ; nor between the guilt of inflicting an unjust punishment by our own hand, or by the hand of another. And by whatever circuitous method we do the one or the other, it is the same guilt. To deliver the slave, therefore, over to the civil law, to be sold according to its known regulations, is the same as to do it ourselves. David was as guilty of murdering Uriah by the hand of the Amorites, as though he had done it with his own hand." After urging that the measure proposed would be unkind and cruel to the slaves, the remonstrance proceeds in the following terms, page 43 — " We acknowledge that in the case under consideration the only alternatives are, to set the slave free from our hands into inevitable and perpetual slavery, or to retain him for the time in slavery to ourselves. Having rejected the former, we must adopt the latter. But here we are met by the formidable axiom, Of two moral evils, there is never a necessity to choose either. In the overture this axiom is immediately applied to the case before us. One would suppose the inference now is, Since there are two moral evils in our choice, slavery and the above alternative, we should choose neither, but adopt some other method of eman- cipation. This, however, does not appear to be the inference intended ; but it is taken for granted that slavery, in all circumstances, is sinful, and that therefore by the axiom, this method of emancipation is not. Why not reverse the application of the axiom thus — The method of emancipation proposed is sinful, and therefore slavery, in comparison, is innocent ? The truth of the axiom we do not deny, but we BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. ANDERSON. 329 do tnink it is misapplied in the overture. The error lies in supposing an action sinful in certain circumstances, and there- fore sinful in all circumstances. But some actions no cir- cumstances can justify; others depend on circumstances for their justification or condemnation. To kill a neighbor is sinful in certain cases, and not in others ; to labor on the Sabbath is sinful in certain cases, and not in others ; so, while it is sinful to deprive a man of his liberty by violence, or to keep him in bondage by force and power when he might be free of his choice, it does not follow that to keep him in slavery till emancipation becomes possible, and till it may be done without cruelty and injustice, is also sinful." What the Scriptures teach as to the matter on hand, is declared in the following language, page 46 — " That the apostles did receive to the communion of the church both masters and servants, without requiring emancipation as a term of admission, we think cannot be denied. For proof of this we appeal to 1 Cor. vii : 20-24 ; Eph. vi : 5, 9. Now, what shall we do with these stubborn facts ? Shall we evade them by saying, as in the overture, that it is not necessary to understand the name servant, so frequently used in the New Testament Scriptures, to mean slaves, while the term is frequently used to denote a hireling ? This is irrelevant ; for though we should acknowledge that the name servant frequently means hireling in the New Testament, yet if in any cases in which the apostles gave directions to masters and servants as such, and as members of the church, they used it to denote slaves, the question is decided. That the apostles did use the name servant in the latter sense, is clear from 1 Cor. vii : 21, and 1 Tim. vi : 1, 2." On the question, How could the apostles tolerate slave- holding? the remonstrance states, page 47 — "That it was not in their commission to lay the hand of miraculous power on the nations, and model their governments by the rules of holy Scripture ; this work was left to the common providence 28* 330 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. of Grod, and the operation of moral and physical causes in his hand. While, therefore, the Roman government was per- mitted, in Divine Providence, to continue in the form it then had, and to maintain the laws it then did, entire emancipa- tion was impossible. Slavery, then, was permitted in church members by the apostles, on the same principles for which we plead — on the principles of necessity ; because the remedy was not in their hand." These extracts are submitted for the purposes already mentioned, and not with any view, thought, or desire of reviving an old controversy. The Synod of 1831 was appointed to meet in Canonsburg, Washington county, Pennsylvania. Mr. Anderson went up to the meeting, accompanied by the writer. We started about the middle of April, and traveled the same route as in 1827 ) but in carriages, and not on the saddle, as in 1827. We reached Canonsburg towards the close of the third week. Our relatives and Christian friends rejoiced, and we rejoiced with them. Our joy, however, was moderated by frequent thoughts of our ecclesiastical position, and of the worse predicament in which we might, and perhaps would be, placed by the action of the coming Synod. We were not personally interested in the slave question. Neither of us claimed the distinction of being the master of a fellow-mortal. But as connected with our congregations and the congrega- tions of our Presbytery, we were laid under a heavy charge by the overture of 1829. By a resolution of Synod adopted in 1830, we were required also to show the extent of our guilt j and from what we knew of northern sentiment, we feared that we had to encounter a vehement wind— such as would over- turn and scatter our congregations, as the North-wester which fell upon us at the foot of the Blue Ridge overturned trees and fences, scattering the fragments in every direction. In this expectation we were disappointed. The Synod met on Wednesday, the 11th of May. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP BR. ANBjSRSON. 83l [Dr. Anderson's biographer then gives a full account of the action of the Synod on the subject of slavery — of the course pursued by Dr. Anderson and his southern brethren — ■ of the final dissolution of their pastoral relations, and their removal from the southern States. Though the whole state- ment is interesting and affecting, and though many would read with admiration the strenuous efforts of Dr. Anderson in the Synod, and in the South, to avert the calamity of the complete breaking up of the Secession body in the southern States, we must omit this part of the narrative. Dr. Ander- son, though decidedly opposed to slavery, would have guided the Secession Church to a wiser course, in the judgment of many, could his counsels have prevailed. But he conscien- tiously believed it his duty to submit to the decisions of his Synod. He left his large and interesting charge in Carolina, having received a call to a congregation in Washington county, New York. In his charge, consisting of Steel Creek and Bethany congregations, were two hundred and five slaves, of whom were sixty -nine readers, eight communicants, and ono hundred and fifty-seven catechumens. Yet, from a sense of duty, having promised obedience to his brethren in the Lord, he withdrew, forever, from these poor sons of Ham.] Before the meeting of Presbytery in 1833, a call came to hand from the Associate congregation of Hebron, Washing- ton county, New York, which, being presented by the Pres- bytery, Mr. Anderson accepted of it, and demitted the pastoral care of Bethany and Steel Creek. As soon as the weather and roads were in such a state as to admit of comfortable traveling, Mr. Anderson took his final leave of the South, and of his respectful, loving parish- ioners. No doubt there was heaviness on his part, and tears and sobs with them. Had he possessed the spmt of prophecy, he might have said as Paul did t<-> the o!3cr3 of Epheaus — • a And now, behold] I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no 332 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. more ;" for such was the event. They saw him — they heard his solemn, affectionate voice no more. He made his way to New York in safety, and commenced his ministerial career in Hehron about the 1st of June. Mr. Anderson's new field of labor was much more limited than the former ; and, of consequence, he had more time for reading and meditation, and being less exposed, his health was more uniform. He applied himself with earnestness and diligence to his proper work as a minister of Christ— preach- ing, visiting, catechizing, &c, as in the South ; and, without any special efforts, he attained in a short time to a distin- guished standing among the ministers and brethren of Cam- bridge Presbytery. After the resignation of Professor John Anderson, of Ser- vice, in 1820, there were two schools of the prophets under the care of the Associate Synod, — one in Philadelphia, super- intended by Rev. John Banks, D. P., and the other in Can- onsburg, superintended by Rev. James Ramsey, P. P. Poc- tor Banks being removed by death in 1829, it was concluded to cast the two Seminaries into one, and place over the united Seminary two Professors, — the first to be called the Professor of Pidactic and Polemic Theology, and the second to be styled Professor of Biblical Literature and Ecclesiastical History. The Synod of 1831 located the united Seminary in Canons- burg, and elected Pr. Ramsey to the Professorship of Pidac- tic and Polemic Theology. The other Professorship was not filled at that time ; but in the meeting of Synod at Canons- burg, in the fall of 1833, Rev. Pavid Carson, of Blount county, Tennessee, was chosen to fill it. He acquiesced in the judgment of his brethren, and moved with his family to Canonsburg in June of 1834. He was thirty-three or four years of age. His ruddy complexion and robust form, prom- ised a long life of usefulness. But the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. It was well, no doubt, that it was in his heart to build the house of the Lord. But BIOGRArHICAL SKETCH OP DR. ANDERSON. 333 he was not permitted to do the work. Before he had made an actual commencement in his department of official labor, he was removed to the land of silence. His death occurred about the 20th of September, 1834; and the Synod meeting shortly after in the city of Baltimore, proceeded to the elec- tion of another. Rev. Abraham Anderson was chosen ; but he could not say that he would take the place, and discharge the duties of it according to the best of his ability. In the hope that time would remove his difficulties, the Synod allowed him to hold the call under consideration till the next meeting appointed to be held in Canonsburg, 1835. This indulgence was indicative of an earnest desire on the part of the Synod that Mr. Anderson would accept the post to which he was called, and he considered what was his duty in the case very seriously, and with earnest prayer for Divine direc- tion. In a letter to the writer bearing date November 27th, 1834, the following language is used : — " One thing occurred at Synod in which I am much interested — my election to the Professorship. If I were to consult my own comfort only, I would decline. But I consider it a matter of weighty con- cern, and that its weight would require me to make greater sacrifices than any call I ever had before. The fear of a cor- rupt man, or a man under corrupt influence filling the place and poisoning the fountains and streams which water our vine- yard, makes it no matter of indifference to me, and points out my accountability. The providences connected with the case have been remarkable. While I was in the Carolinas, and preferred almost anything to my situation there, and had nothing in these respects to hinder my acceptance of the call, it was not made. It was not made till I was settled, and in such circumstances, that I find it more difficult than I ever did, or would have found it before, to change my location. Thus Providence seems to say, that I must wade through difficulties, in duty or to duty — that I must not come to my duties with ease, or that it is not my duty to change my loca- 334 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. tion at present. That it is through difficulties and trials I must engage in duty, and perform it, is, I am aware, no strange thing. It is the appointed way ; and if this were all the hinderance it would be no argument against my removal, but I suspect some of my difficulties are insurmountable. Dear friend, I request both your counsels and your prayers. It is God only that can guide my judgment and my heart. I dread the influence of temptations from the world and of carnal views and affections. Such a dilemma presented, and to be determined under the influence of a carnal mind, is a fear- ful condition." The great impediment was the very delicate health of Mrs. Anderson, which not changing for the better in the course of the time given for consideration, Mr. Anderson finally declined the office to which he had been appointed. Informed of his decision, the Synod of 1835 proceeded to the election of another, and fixed on the Rev. Thomas Beveridge, of Phila- delphia, now Dr. Beveridge, who accepted the appointment, and is still serving the church in that office to the satisfaction of the Synod and students of theology. The chair of Didactic Theology being vacant by the death of Dr. Martin, the Synod of 1847, sitting in Allegheny, pro- ceeded to the choice of an incumbent. Mr. Anderson was chosen, and without hesitation accepted the office. No doubt he could have said as before, Were I to consult my own com- fort only, I would decline. But I consider this call a matter of weighty concern, and that its great weight requires me to make greater sacrifices than any call I ever had before. (See Letter above.) The sacrifices involved in the undertaking were by no means trifling. He had to abandon a very com- modious settlement at a considerable pecuniary loss. He had to forsake the society of his affectionate parishioners, of his relations in New York, and of his own family, in some mea- sure. He had to abandon that leisure and quietude which men at his stage of life (not far from sixty) generally prize, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 835 and to gird himself for labors in a new field, — labors that are difficult in their nature, and made more difficult as youthful candidates for the ministry are apt to be fastidious as to the manner in which their spiritual food is presented. Mr. Ander- son, without doubt, counted the cost before he undertook the work, for such was his habit ; and hence he did not afterwards draw back nor murmur at finding difficulties which he had not anticipated. He repaired to Canonsburg about the 1st of November, the commencement of the theological session, leaving his wife, whose health was more uniform than in 1834, and his only child, a daughter twelve or thirteen years of age, with Mrs. Law, his wife's mother. He took boarding with Mr. Wm. M'Lelland, one of the companions and friends of his youth, and labored throughout the winter in his appropriate office, and in preaching the word to the congregation of Chartiers as a helper of Dr. Ramsey, now in debility through age. The writer attended the meeting of the Board at the close of the session, and spent some time with Mr. Anderson in his private study. He did not complain of his labors, nor of solicitude about his family, from which he was so distant, but seemed care-worn and heavy, — not so cheerful as in the sunny South, and I was therefore led to conclude that he felt hia labors and privations, though he would not permit his lips to complain. The session closing with the month of March, Mr. Anderson returned to his family in New York. About this time the honorary degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by the Faculty and Board of Franklin College, in the State of Ohio. Having in the course of the summer made some disposition of his property in New York, he returned with his family to Canonsburg in the month of October ; and during the winter that followed he prosecuted his labors in the Seminary and in the pulpit, preaching about half the time for Dr. Ramsey, 336 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. and on Sabbath nights alternately with his colleague in the hall of the Seminary. Having procured an unimproved lot near the Seminary, he took upon himself the cares and anxieties of building in the summer of 1849. There was much to be done, and he so managed that all was done in a short time, and in good style. The result of the undertaking was a most commodious habita- tion, with its proper appurtenances. As we were returning from the meeting of Synod in Xenia, 1851, in a private and confidential interview the Doctor told me of one fact in regard to his bodily condition, by which I was led to apprehend that his earthly tabernacle was breaking down. He preserved, however, his usual healthy appearance, and continued to prose- cute his work with unabated energy. In the fall of that year he took upon himself an additional burden of cares and labors. A small congregation on Miller's Run, five miles from Canonsburg, called him and his colleague, Dr. Beveridge, to be their conjoint pastors ; and Dr. Anderson, in conjunc- tion with Dr. Beveridge, accepted the call, and continued in the duties involved till near the end of his course. Dr. An- derson was in easy, and even affluent circumstances. He was not impelled to this undertaking by the necessities of his family, nor by the love of filthy lucre, but by a sense of duty and the delight he experienced in using his gifts for the ben- efit of others. He was well apprized that it was his duty to lay out his talents, and not bury them ; and he delighted in preaching the word to an humble, attentive people, and in circulating among such a people and instructing them around their own hearths. The writer remembers distinctly of his saying in a private interview, not long after the acceptance of that call — " / do like to preach." His sense of duty, and the pleasure he found in pastoral duties were, then, the principal motives of that undertaking. It is probable, however, that he took into view BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 337 the necessity of exercise in the open air, and thought that the exercise demanded by duty in the congregation would redound to his advantage. Not long after Professors Anderson and Beveridge had taken upon them the pastoral care of Miller's Bun, the Asso- ciate Synod reduced the theological course, which had been spread over four years, to three years of two sessions each, five months in the winter, as before, and three in the summer. This arrangement left to the Professors but little time for i*elaxation. But still Dr. Anderson went on in his course, and presented no visible signs of wearing out till August, 1854, when he was taken suddenly with the usual symptoms of gravel, and suffered exceedingly for twelve or fifteen days. His complaint was never removed altogether ; but being par- tially relieved, he returned, after three or four weeks' confine- ment, to the duties of his calling. In October he maintained his erect attitude of body and his usual complexion. In Jan- uary there was no visible change, except a certain snowy whiteness of his forehead and temples, in which, as the writer imagined, the sentence of death was legible. In a private interview at the time just mentioned, he spoke without reserve of his bodily condition, stating that he suffered daily, and that his sufferings were at times excruciating, — that the cause was not stone, but some other acrid humor thrown upon the tender organs. This judgment respecting the nature of his ailment was correct. It was at length fully ascertained that the immediate cause of his sufferings and death was chronic cystitis, attended with irritation and stricture of the urethra. How, under these painful circumstances, he preserved his composure of mind and energy of spirit, and went on with his duties in the Seminary, I cannot show more distinctly than in the language of Dr. Beveridge, who was with him daily. " During the last winter of his life," says the Doctor, in a letter lately received, " he suffered exceedingly from the disease which at last terminated his days, but he persevered 29 338 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. in meeting with the students till the close of the session. Their last meeting with him was in his own house ; and their general impression at the time was, that it would be the last. Towards the close of the winter, he limited himself in these meetings to an hour. Frequently, however, some of the stu- dents, who were not aware of the nature of his disease, would detain him after he had finished his lecture to obtain his instructions on some'subjeet which was engaging their atten- tion ) and such was his kindness and self-denial, that he often allowed himself to be detained so long that when he returned to his house he would continue for some time in an agony." That in such circumstances he not only attempted his daily duties, but persevered and went through them, is a sufficient proof that he was possessed of a strong will and an indomi- table spirit. As to his method of teaching theology during his last and other sessions, Dr. Beyeridge states in the same letter : — " That taking Mark's Medulla for ttie text-book, (as his predecessors had done,) he embodied in a series of questions whatever he regarded as valuable in the Compend, adding when there seemed to be occasion for it, and correcting what he disapproved. The written questions and their answers did not, however, comprise all his instructions. As occasions appeared to require, he enlarged on different sub- 'ects. This he did especially when he found any point not thoroughly comprehended by the students, or when a question was raised by any of them respecting some point of doctrine ; and these unpremeditated remarks were considered by the students as the most valuable of his instructions. His lec- tures were greatly esteemed by the young gentlemen for whose use they were prepared ; and having been solicited by them to give them to the public, he had made some preparation foi doing so." It may be stated here, though it be not chrono- logically in order, that the portion of Dr. Anderson's lectures which health and life did not permit him to review and correct for the press, has been re-written by the Rev. T. H Beveridge, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON, 339 of Philadelphia, and the work is published. The Christian community will therefore have the opportunity of judging of Dr. Anderson's ability and soundness as a theologian, and of 'lis aptness bo teach. As a copy of the work has not yet some into the writer's hands, he cannot offer his opinion in regard to its merits. But a more competent judge speaks in terms of high commendation. " The work," says Dr. Cooper, editor of the Repository, " while it cannot fail to be a very valuable guide to theological students, will prove to them, and all others who may make use of it, a rich fund of valuable and varied information on the doctrines of our holy religion. Let no one decline purchasing the work from the fear that he may not be able to understand it, or that it is not adapted to the general reader. On some accounts it will be found pecu- liarly acceptable and useful to private members of the church. The interrogatory form which characterizes these lectures, is well calculated to arrest attention, and bring out the point clearly and distinctly before the mind. We feel rejoiced that •it has been presented to the public, as we think it, on the whole, admirably calculated to diffuse throughout the church sound Scriptural principles, and to establish our people, and all who may read it, in the faith of our holy profession." — Rep. vol. xv., p. 442. From this digression we return. It was faintly hoped at the close of the session, (March, 1855,) that being released from care and fatigue, Dr. Anderson would recover from his weakness, and see some years of comfort and usefulness. But his sufferings were not abated; and under the genial warmth of the dawning summer, his symptoms became more aggravated. Having taught others how to live and how to die, he was not amazed with horror, nor overwhelmed with grief, — he preserved his usual serenity of countenance and equanimity of mind. He manifested, however, a lively con- cern about eternal things. After hearing his own statement about his bodily condition in the month of January, the 340 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. writer took the liberty of making some remarks about the grounds of faith and its happy influence in tranquillizing the mind and heart in trying times — observing, among other things, that if we had the lively, confiding faith of Paul, we would say as he did — " I know in whom I have believed, and that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him ; I have finished my course, I have kept the faith ; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness," &c. There was no thought of being useful to the Doctor, except in the way of stirring up his pure mind by putting him in re- membrance ; yet he took a lively interest in the conversation, and spoke of it in the month of March, regretting that it had been interrupted by the coming of , a much esteemed friend, whom he said he had never been sorry to see coming into his house except in that instance. The following statements respecting the exercise of Dr. Anderson in preparation for his approaching dissolution, are derived from the letter of Dr. Beveridge, extracts from which have been already given : — " About four weeks before his death, when I rose to leave him he requested me to sit down, that we might have some conversation in respect to spiritual things, and particularly in reference to death. He stated, in substance, that he hoped somewhat for recovery, but thought his case doubtful. Among other things which he mentioned as yielding him satisfaction as an evidence of the reality of grace, was perseverance for a long time in the way of righteousness. The righteous shall hold on his way. I re- collect, also, that he expressed himself much pleased with some remarks I made to him about the determination of the will to what is right, even when there may be much disturb- ance of the affections, as when a man consents to the amputa- tion of a limb, while his whole frame shudders at the thought of parting with it; his will is to lose the limb, but his feelings are all opposed to his will ; so in crucifying the flesh, the will is to give up right hands and right eyes — to BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. ANDERSON. 341 give up all for Christ, but the affections are often strongly drawn in a contrary direction." We come to the closing scene, the account of which is taken chiefly from a letter of Dr. Bcveridge to his son, Rev. Thomas H. Beveridge, of Philadelphia, dated the 8th of May, 1855 :— " Our dear brother, Dr. Anderson, is still living, but no one entertains the least hope of his recovery. On the last Sabbath of April, nine days ago, he was seized with a chill : he was somewhat better on Monday. He continued, how- ever, to suffer a good deal on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday morning I was sent for : he was supposed to be dying. He recovered somewhat during the day. I called as soon as I returned from Miller's Run, (where I had preached,) and found him sinking. On Tuesday I was again sent for, about noon, when he was once more thought to be dying. Stayed with him that evening and night. He was sensible, though not able to do much more than answer questions. On Friday, or perhaps Thursday, I asked him if he knew that he was dying. He replied that he did. I asked him if he found himself prepared to leave the world. His reply was that he trusted that he was ready. About 2 o'clock of Saturday morning, Dr. M'Elwee arrived. Dr. Anderson had apparently been inattentive to any thing for some time ; but as his brother M'Elwee approached the bed, and asked if he knew him, Dr. Anderson raised himself up with a sudden start, calling out as he did so, < M'Elwee, M'Elwee, M'El- wee !' he threw his arms around him, and drew him down to his breast, where he held him till we we;e obliged to remove his hands, to give Dr. M'Elwee his liberty." He seemed exceedingly gratified, and was induced to take some water, by which the clamminess of his mouth was removed, and he was able for some time to speak more distinctly. About 10 o'clock, Saturday afternoon, he fell into an agony of pain. Pis countenance became distorted, he tossed his head rapidly 29* 342 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. from one side to the other, and flung his arms violently in every direction, crying out as he did so, " Oh, me ! Oh, me ! What shall I do ? What shall I do ? I want strength — I want strength — I have no strength !" The writer presented himself before his face, and repeated the text, " My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weak- ness." The Doctor looked up with a steady, pleasant eye, and repeated the latter part of the text, " My strength is made perfect in wea7cness." "Yes," said the writer, "trust in him, and you will find it so." He made no answer, but became calm, and lay quietly till about 2 o'clock in the after- noon, when the writer, having the Lord's Supper on hand, was obliged to leave. " On Saturday night," continues Dr. Beveridge, " his brother William came to see him, and he manifested a like gratification, and in the same way, when he recognised him. He appeared also gratified to find Dr. Hanna and other fx-iends around him. I stayed with him all day on Saturday, leaving Dr. Hanna to preach and attend to the other services of the day at Miller's Run. On Sabbath 1 was obliged to leave him, and on Monday also I was at Miller's Run. During all this time, and indeed from Thurs- day till the present time, his sufferings have been extreme beyond any I have ever before witnessed, in intensity and duration. They have been such as almost to frighten one in relation to the last conflict. I hope, however, it will not last much longer. He has swallowed nothing for several days, and cannot even bear to have his parched lips wet with water. "P. S. — 12 o'clock. Dr. Anderson breathed his last about half after 10 o'clock, and is to be buried to-morrow' at 2 o'clock. He was sixty-six years of age last December." He was accordingly interred, on the 9 th of May, in the grave-yard of the Associate congregation of Chartiers, wherein his parents and some other relations had been previously laid. The company that followed his body to its long home was BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 343 very large; and that home, through the affection of his family, has been marked by the erection of a rich but modest monument of marble. On the front of the shaft is "Ander- son," the family name; on the south side of the basis is a, simple inscription, which announces the time of his birth, and the time of his death ; and on the north side is a text of Scripture expressive of the hope which animated Dr. Ander- son while living, and comforts the hearts of surviving friends in regard to his death. The text is that in Rev. xiv : 13 — ■ " Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth ; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ; and their works do follow them." Dr. Anderson's exterior was large, massive, and comely; and though large bodies and little souls are often conjoined, in this case the glory within was equal or superior to the expectations inspired by the outward form. He was able to accomplish much in a little time. Though twenty-four years of age when he commenced his academical studies, yet in the course of a few years he was equal and superior to many others who had been prosecuting those studies from their childhood. While others studied divinity, he studied divinity and medicine, and performed all the tedious duties of Profes- sor of Languages in Jefferson College. This mental activity, and the fruit of it, much done in a little time, was visible in all the different stages of his career. What time he usually employed in preparing for the Sabbath I know not ; but if an emergency required it, he could collect and arrange the materials of a sermon in a very short time. He was not so remarkable, however, for the activity of his mental operations, as for the compass and extent of his vision. As a man of the smallest stature, standing near an ant-hill, can survey it on all sides at one and the same time, so he seemed to tower above the subject which he had occasion to handle, and to view all its different sides at once, with all the objections which might be brought against the view which he main- 344 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. tained. This mounting above his subject was discernible in all his public discourses, and frequently in his conversation. An elderly man in the South, connected with the General Assembly of the Old School, heard Dr Anderson occasionally, and compared him to a great bar-shear, which makes a wide furrow and buries all the weeds out of sight. To a strong, well-balanced mind, were added, in the case of Dr. Anderson, a diligent spirit, and the art of gathering up fragments of time and bits of opportunity, and turning them to some good account. In camp he found time to write a little book, though he had not turned his attention to literary studies, and wanted all the common conveniences for writing. In after life his opportunities were better, and he improved them with equal diligence. It does not appear that he kept a diary ; but he kept a note-book, in which he recorded, with some remarks, any text with which his mind was impressed in reading; and when his reflections did not lead him to fix on some particular subject for the Sabbath, he had recourse to this storehouse for assistance. To an industrious spirit was added the love of order. His books and papers were kept in their proper places. The parts of his apparel were properly disposed ; and his expenditures were not suffered to flow out at random. He noted in a little book the incomes and outlayings of a year. At the end of the year he marked the paper, and laid it by, and began anew. The love of order and convenience was, in short, conspicuous in every thing about him ; in his garden, yard, and stable, as well as in his dwelling. The result of his well-directed industry was riches in knowledge : his library was, indeed, not very large ; but being of an observing, penetrating mind, and persevering spirit, what he studied was well studied. He could read a Latin system of divinity almost as freely as common English. He was so familiar with the Greek of the New Testament, that in family worship, in his own house, he read the chaptef BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 345 directly from the original text. He had a good acquaintance with the Hebrew of the Old Testament, and with ancient and modern history, with the principles of our republican govern- ment and of the common law. He was a good physician in all ordinary cases, and not ignorant of chemistry, nor of agriculture or architecture. He was well acquainted with human nature ; and knew very generally, before the trial of a particular measure, whether it would be borne or rejected with indignation. Men of vigorous powers and great learning are sometimes destitute of common sense, but it was never supposed by any of his acquaintances that Dr. Anderson was deficient in that respect. Common sense and prudence were conspicuous in all that he said and did. Great abilities and rich acquirements are often attended with a highly supercilious spirit, that unfits the possessor for usefulness in the world. But Dr. Anderson was humble and patient. He thought it no degradation to leave his seat in college, and ride through the country preaching the gospel to the poor and ignorant; and when settled in a pastoral charge, he was not above preaching from house to house, or visiting the poor in their affliction. A man whose gifts are excellent, may be in a great measure useless through lack of the principles that should guide him in the exercise of his gifts, and excite him to use them for the benefit of others. He may be without zeal for the glory of God and the cause of righteousness, and without love for his fellow-creatures. But Dr. Anderson was not in this unhappy case. He was very zealous for the Lord God of hosts, and towards men he was full of kindness. When, in the commencement of my ministry, I told him of any difficulty, or discouragement, or cause of perplexity, however trifling the thing was, he never made light of it, but listened with fixed attention ; and when he had comprehended the case, he applied himself to the labor of helping me with as much earnestness as if I had been his own son. His tenderness was very visible in his 346 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. intercourse with Mrs. Anderson and his daughter ; and Dr. Beveridge, his colleague in the Seminary, witnesses that towards the students he showed all the kindness of a fathei particularly when any of them were under affliction. A. first sight his lofty head and stern countenance led me to suspect that he was without tender feelings; and that though I might esteem, I could not love him. But first impressions are often fallacious. " Very pleasant hast thou been unto me, my brother. Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women." Many good men will wound the feelings of a friend in pursuit of a jest and a laugh. But Dr. Ander- son's tenderness forbade him to do so. Some, who are not vicious, will through weakness or in- considerateness, reveal what has been communicated to them in the confidence of friendship; and those who will maki trouble for their friends intentionally, or inadvertently, ai so many in all the walks of Jife, that the royal preacher inquires after a faithful man, and hints that it is hard to find such a man. " A faithful man, who can find V Dr. Ander- son obtained mercy to be faithful in all his relations. He was an intelligent, constant friend, and wise counselor ; and the (Writer has often felt thankful that being such, Divine Providence had brought us into contact and fellowship. The good qualities already noticed, were enhanced by honesty and sincerity. Too many magnify whatever they have occasion to speak of, but his communications were yea, yea, nay, nay; and whether he commended or faulted, his words were the just exponents of his thoughts. If he had offered a measure to the Presbytery or Synod, and a brother offered something better, he would abandon his own measure and maintain the substitute. He did nothing through strife or vainglory. He never spoke that others might hear how well he could speak, nor continued to harangue and reason for the sake of victory. He was, no doubt, pleased to possess the esteem of his fellow-men, but direct attempts to win BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP DR. ANDERSON. 347 popular favor, his honesty and sense of dignity would not allow him to make. He was free from that ambition which is ever striving to shine with such lustre as to throw all others into the shade, and from that bitterness of soul which gives birth to envy. If a brother in the ministry succeeded in riveting the attention of the people more closely than he had done himself, Dr. Anderson was not made restless and uneasy, nor stirred up to speak disparagingly of his brother, but rather to praise and thank the Most High for bestowing such gifts on men. To this nobleness of spirit, Dr. Beveridge, his colleague in the Seminary and in the pastorate of Miller's Run, bears witness, stating in a letter lately received, that some of the people of Miller's Run preferred Dr. Anderson, and some himself — that Dr. Anderson noticed their prefer- ences, and spoke of them in private interviews with as much indifference as if he had been no way interested. Weight was given to Dr. Anderson's instructions, public and private, by his habitual gravity. He was indeed affable and cheerful, and could laugh heartily when there was a just occasion. But by nature or grace, or both combined, he was estranged from levity. His speech was very generally seasoned with salt, and good to the use of edifying. I recol- lect but one laughable story of his telling, and that bore some- what against himself. He was lodging with a worthy pair of elderly Scotch people in Sterling congregation, Iredell county, North Carolina, on the night before the sacramental fast. He spoke during the evening of the sad declension of religion, and as an instance noticed the utter disregard of fast days by many ; and the general neglect of every thing like fasting, by many who profess to sanctify the day. It did not ocour to him to state, as was his belief, that on a day of fasting, worshipers should not indulge in table comforts as on other days, but take merely a little of something plain and simple, for necessary sustenance. The morning having come, he walked out to a 348 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. grove, and spent an hour or more in prayer and study. He returned, expecting to be invited to the breakfast table, but was asked to lead in worship. Worship being over, he sat for some time and conversed with the head of the family. He went to the grove again, tarried a good while, and re- turned, confidently expecting that a frugal repast was in readiness for him. But instead of that the horses were saddled for going to the church, and the old lady had adjusted her bonnet and shawl. As soon as he entered the house, she accosted him very kindly, saying — " Now, Mr. Anderson, it is too much to go all day without eating any thing at all : having to preach two sermons, you will faint before you arc through with them. Will you not have a little of some- thing ?" He replied — " To be sure I will, if I can get it." So she laid off her bonnet, and in a few moments invited him to a cold repast. While relating this bit of his experience, the Doctor laughed very heartily. It was not, however, a vain story. All may easily learn from it that the man of God should rightly divide the word of truth, showing what is right and proper, as well as that which is reprehensible and to be avoided. That persons who have not had the happiness of seeing Dr. Anderson in the pulpit may have some idea of him as a preacher, it is necessary to state that though he was large and strong, his bodily organization was such that he could only speak in a conversational tone. His pronunciation being distinct, he was nevertheless heard with ease in a large assembly. It must be stated further, that he had one mental peculiarity : while his memory was grasping and retentive of ideas, he had less ability than the generality of men to remember and repeat sentences. At the commencement of his ministry he wrote his sermons at full length, as young ministers of the Associate Church generally do ; but it took him a whole week to commit a sermon, and after so much labor he was hampered in the delivery. He concluded, after BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 349 a few trials, that if he could not preach except in this way, it would he necessary for him to abandon the ministry. The plan on which he fell, was that of writing down the heads and particular divisions, with a few sentences under each division indicating the line of illustration to be pursued. In this way he preached with more ease and comfort, and in this way he continued to preach. Frequently, indeed, he wrote his sermon at full length ; but in preparing to preach it, he did no more than make himself familiar with the line of thoughts ; and thus, while the matter was premeditated, the language was extemporaneous. It may be stated further, that in taste and judgment, Dr. Anderson was opposed to ornate discourses and rhetorical flourishes in the sacred desk. He often quoted, with ap- probation, the famous lines of Cowper : — " What, will a man play tricks ? Will he indulge A silly, fond conceit of his fair form, And just proportion, fashionable mien, And pretty face, in presence of his God ? Or will he seek to dazzle me with tropes, And play his brilliant parts before my eyes, When I am hungry for the bread of life ? * -:•:- •:•.- * -£ * $ I seek divine simplicity in him Who handles things divine ; and all beside, Though learned with labor, and though much admired By curious eyes, and judgments ill informed, To me is odious." While, therefore, Dr. Anderson's preaching was, as to the matter, solid and rich, in respect of the language and style of delivery, it was very plain and simple. Epithets were not piled upon epithets, nor one bright comparison upon another. His hearers were not amused with graphic descriptions of persons and scenes, nor astonished at times with a torrent of diction and feeling. He was not flippant nor drawling, but flowed with an evenly tenor, as the clear stream of a 80 850 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. prolific fountain. His able thoughts flowing immediately from his own mind, and enforced by the countenance of sincerity itself, generally commanded the attention of hearers though the words were plain, and perhaps for that very reason. In the body of his sermon, what he ever aimed at was to manifest some point of truth, or to refute some error, and his arguments were plain and cogent. In the conclusion he appealed to the consciences of his hearers, and appealed con- science itself to the tribunal of the great Judge ; and these appeals were always solemn, and often very impressive. His many excellencies were more conspicuous on the floor of Synod than in the pulpit. In a time of a heat and excite- ment, his calm, dignified mien, and gentle voice, were as oil on the troubled waters. When darkness brooded over the Assembly, many not able to see the point at issue, his cool, judge-like statement of the matter, and plain arguments in behalf of the truth, were often as a bright light kindled up in a dark place. He was eminently fitted for the chair of Didactic and Polemic Theology. His great intellectual ability and solid learning, his dignity of appearance, and constant propriety of conduct, his condescending kindness and patience, made him all that could be desired in that important post. I;t need scarcely be added that he was a man of piety; for what is Christian piety but the harmonious meeting of those fruits of righteousness which we have been contemplating ? Of his sincere piety there are many other evidences besides that evidence which he mentioned himself to Dr. Bevcridge as one that afforded him some consolation. Only two of the many shall be specified. He loved the truth of the gospel, and stood by it in the face of opposition and reproach ; and he loved the word of truth — the Holy Scriptures. WheD the writer had accepted of a pastoral charge in the Presbytery of the Carolinas, though our dwelling-places were thirty miles apart, he proposed that we should meet once a month for reading a portion of Scripture, and offering such remarks aa BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DR. ANDERSON. 351 might occur to us, or we should be able to collect ; and it appears that he bound himself to read so much of the word daily in private as would serve to take him quite through in the course of the year. His great sufferings in the close of his life are no sign or proof that he was not right in heart with G-od. Christ came to his beloved disciples in a storm, and they were exceedingly distressed ; and we are informed in the word of truth that grace is given to every one to profit withal • that is, to be exercised to the glory of God and the benefit of others ; and how could the excellent graces, faith, courage, and patience, be exercised and made manifest with- out some very sharp trials ? Mr. Boston says : — " It is very rare, I suppose, that any of God's children have something more than ordinary about them to their advantage, but they get something more than ordinary to try them. Of all the patriarchs there was not one that had more divine manifesta- tions, or so many as Jacob, nor so many and great afflictions either. Of all the sons of Jacob there was none so highly raised and useful as Joseph, and none so afflicted. Heman was a man of more than ordinary reach, and so of afflic- tions." — Completed Works, vol. vi., p. 650. What the writer saw himself of the terrible agonies of Dr. Anderson, (bodily agonies, for they were confined to the body,) led him to these reflections at the time. It is the lambs which the Good Shepherd gathers with his arms and carries in his bosom, and therefore " Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor the mighty man in his power;" he will be apt to need all the wisdom and power which he possesses, and perhaps more. I was convinced, too, of the perfect folly of deferring pre- paration for death till death comes, and made in a manner to hear the word sounding from Heaven, " If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the wicked and ungodly ap- pear?" Heaven is sometimes called rest; and if the Doctor's re 'eased spirit went to heaven, as is confidently hoped, how 352 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON college. sweet was the perfect rest, and how light and trifling do all the labors and torments of the way now appear ! John xvi : 21, 22. That this imperfect exhibition of the life and character of one of the precious sons of Zion may serve to stir up sorae others to follow him even as he followed Christ, is the earnest desire and prayer of the writer. W. M. M'Elwee. MEMOIR OF THE LATE REV. JOHN H. KENNEDY, A. M Professor of Mathematics and Natural History in Jefferson College, from April, 1830, till his death, December 15th, 1840. BY THE LATE REV. M. BROWN, D. D. President of Jefferson College. [First published in connection with a sermon delivered in the College Chapel, December 21th, 1840, and printed in Pittsburgh, 1841.] Rev. John H. Kennedy was descended from a very respect- able and pious ancestry. James Kennedy, his grandfather, emigrated from Ireland, and settled, first in New Jersey, and afterwards in Pequa, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where some of the family still reside. Rev. Robert Kennedy, the father of the deceased, has been for many years in the minis- try, and has sustained a very high standing among his breth- ren, for talents, learning, and respectability. In the full vigor of body and mind, he still lives to mourn the loss of his beloved son. John Herron, Esq., the maternal grandfather, lived and died on " Herron' s Branch/' Franklin county. Of his nume- rous family, the only survivor is Francis Herron, D. D., who was the eldest child. At the house of this venerated grand- father, John H. Kennedy was born, November 11, 1801, His mother (Jane Herron) was, in the mysterious providence of God, removed by death, when John, her eldest son, was eighteen months old. After the death of his mother, he lived SO* (353) 354 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. in his grandfather's family until his fifth year. During this period his health was very delicate, and little hope was enter- tained that he should attain to manhood. His recollections of his grandfather, and his residence in his family, were of the most pleasing kind. It was, he remarks, his " vale of Tempe •" and the time spent there, his " Saturnalia." About the close of his fifth year he was taken home by his father, who had married a second wife. He was early sent to school, but was not so fond of study as of play, and especially such sports as required vigorous exertion. These, though often exposing him to danger, and sometimes to injury, contributed to that remarkable health which he enjoyed until the last year of his life. In his ninth or tenth year he commenced the Latin gram- mar with his fathor, under whose instruction he studied the Latin and Greek languages. Living in a retired place in the country, and without any young associates and class-mates to stimulate him, he had great aversion to study, and attended to it as an irksome task until his fifteenth year. As to his religious views and feelings during this period, he had not experienced any special religious impressions ; but being favored with careful religious instruction, he was restrained from vicious excesses, was sometimes thoughtful, and generally conscientious in an external observance of the Sabbath, and religious institutions. He states that he does not remember ever to have told a lie in his life ; nor was he ever guilty of profanencss, in the common acceptation of the term — so important and powerful is the influence of early religious instruction, even while the heart is devoid of all holy principles, and entirely destitute of all relish or taste for spiritual things. In his fifteenth year his father removed from Franklin county to Cumberland, in Maryland, where he took charge of an academy, and was at the same time pastor of a congregation. There he was introduced to new scenes, MEMOIR OF REV. JOHN H. KENNEDY. 855 and exposed to new and various temptations, from witnessing profaneness, Sabbath-breaking, and various forms of vice and dissipation which prevailed in the place. These influences would have proved ruinous had he not experienced the restraints of a religious education ; and though prevented from going to the same vicious excesses as others, yet he suffered great injury from these unhallowed influences. He became "hardened through the deceitfulness of sin/' "For the space of two years," he writes, " I wholly restrained prayer before God, repined at parental authority, and was regardless of almost every thing but self-gratification." We now come to a period of his life somewhat peculiar. " This," he remarks, " was the period when I may almost say, ' after the straitest sect, I lived a Pharisee.' " Like other sinners, he had often purposed to amend " at some more con- venient season," but did not mean to commence so early and go vigorously as he now was constrained to do. He was in his sixteenth year when " this twilight of the day-spring from on high" commenced. Immediately after going to bed, a powerful impression was made on his mind, with regard to the danger of his condition. This alarm was not occasioned by any particular sin, recently committed ; but by a sense of the guilt and danger of prevailing thoughtless- ness and irreligion. The necessity and nature of repentance seems not to have occurred ; but the conviction was irresisti- ble, that he must amend, and that without delay. The duty of immediately resuming prayer, which he had so long neglected, was presented to his mind, but he concluded it would be safest to reform first, else his prayers would not be acceptable. " Such," he adds, " were my reasonings and resolutions ; such my entire ignorance of my own helplessness and depravity ; and it may be well asked, ' can any good thing come out of an experience, in its commencement, so much at variance with every feature of true piety V The resolutions formed did not pass away, as ' the morning cloud and early 856 filSTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. dew ;' for God was verily here, though I knew it not, and had erected no altar to his praise." The reformation contemplated continued, and was extended much further and deeper than was at first anticipated, " though the light he had was like moon-light, devoid of heat, and which casts a disheartening gloom over whatever it partially illuminates." In the midst of all this darkness conscience was faithful at its post, and increasingly so, as he obtained more light and clearer views of the divine law in its spirituality and extent. Whilst he had no " delight in the law of God, after the inner man," but rather an increasing opposition to its strictness and purity, still he was constrained by the power of conscience to relin- quish every practice with regard to which he entertained any misgivings, although it cost him a terrible struggle, and brought him to his knees before God. November, 1818. About the close of his seventeenth year he became a student of this college. This was a very inter- esting period of his life. Whilst the greater part of the stu- dents here at that time, as they generally have been, and we hope always will be, were religious, or moral, it so happened, owing to some previous acquaintance, his first associates were of a very different character. Among them was one who was suddenly killed by a stroke of lightning, at the instant of his uttering the language of daring profanity. His wild asso- ciates endeavored to dissipate all his serious impressions ; but no solicitations could induce him to engage in immoral prac- tices. His inclination and purpose, before he came to college, Was to be a lawyer ; but his conscience now began to rendei him uneasy at the prospect of the temptations he should have to encounter in that profession. He had not, as yet, openly professed religion by partaking of the Lord's Supper. He had designed to do so at a future period ; but it was deferred, not from any sense of unfitness — for he had great confidence in his supposed piety — but felt reluctance to make so public a separation from the world. MEMOIR OP REV. JOHN H. KENNEDY. 357 At times he felt considerable uneasiness from those solemn declarations of Christ — " Whosoever shall be ashamed of me," &c. — Mark viii : 88. Referring to this in his notes, written some time after he entertained a hope of a saving change, he remarks, " I am now astonished how I could evade this strik- ing declaration, while living in express opposition to it, and still flatter myself that I was a Christian. Yet such is the blindness of the heart till Jesus makes it wise." And he concludes some very judicious and penitential reflections on his case, as follows : " My case was, in many respects, more hopeless than that of any wretched sinner I ever read of. For though I had never gone to ' the same excess of riot/ as many others, yet I believe I never heard or read of one so completely, and for so long a time, and apparently so hope- lessly deluded as I was during that time. Nothing now in my past history, or even in that of the world, convinces me more fully of the power of God than the fact that I now feel myself to be a sinner ; for though my sense of my sinfulness is still slight, yet I can pray, in some measure, with meaning, ' God be merciful to me a sinner.' " After he was some months at college, he determines to change his lodging, and his associates. He obtains boarding with Dr. Ramsey, (then residing a short distance in the coun- try,) now Professor of Theology in the Associate Theological Seminary. For this venerable father and his family he always entertained a very high regard. Here he was removed from many temptations, and was rigidly punctual in attending to religious duties, in private, in the family, in the social prayer-meeting, and the house of God. Hez-e, too, he was happily associated with Joseph Trimble, as his room-mate — a fellow-student of devoted piety and faithfulness, who appears to have been a principal instrument in his conversion to God. March, 1819. The Lord's Supper was to be administered in Dr. M'Millan's church, where the students usually attended. His friend Trimble, mentioning the names of some of the 358 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. applicants for admission, and stating their religious experience, with which he had made himself acquainted, took occasion to make a direct and personal appeal to his young friend. He expressed to him his doubts with regard to his self-righteous hopes, and his fears that he was under a dreadful delusion, and still in " the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity." The arrow was carried to his heart. Never before did the possibility of deception occur to him, though the same truths had been frequently presented under the searching and pow- erful ministry of Dr. M'Millan, and others. His friend urged the point of his danger and guilt in rejecting the Saviour, and concurring with the Jews in " murdering God's only Son/' These expostulations awakened indescribable emotions, and " drew from him a flood of tears." He felt that he must admit some of the charges, yet sup- posed that his friend was ignorant of the faithful manner he attended to secret duties. Still he felt himself in awful dan- ger. Hell appeared infinitely dreadful. Sure work seemed to be absolutely necessary. He prayed with more frequency and earnestness ; but his perplexity and distress remain. The arrows of God stick fast in his soul. About this time he went to Washington, seven miles dis- tant, where the sacrament was to be administered. He went in company with a number of pious students, several of whom had left Washington on account of difficulties that had occurred in reference to the college, but still retained a warm attachment to the congregation, where some of them had been born into the kingdom of Christ. This praying band fre- quently visited Washington, and especially on sacramental occasions, delighted to mingle with kindred spirits in pouring out their souls in prayer and praise, in the social prayer-meet- ing, and in the public sanctuary. The account of this visit, and his exercises on the occasion, I give in Mr. Kennedy's own words : " I went to Washing- ton, &c. My ears were now open ; I heard several awakening MEMOIR OP REV. JOHN H. KENNEDY. 359 sermons. I staid with Mr. Brown, then pastor of Washington congregation, now President of Jefferson College. I heard a good deal of conversation on religion. Some remarks on the responsible .situation of clergymen's children, were principally made at me, and even personally applied to me. These I felt, but answered not. The agency of the Spirit of Grod was spoken of. I wondered what this meant ; and I now suppose that, although I had often read of him, and been told of him, yet in reality I never before so much as thought ' whether there was a Holy Ghost.' While at Washington I was very miserable. I suspected some change to be necessary — what, I knew not, and yet was desirous of bringing myself to it. I had recourse to frequent prayer ; not so much to seek the blessing of G-od, as from a notion of the transforming efficacy of prayer. I began to look upon myself as under conviction, and supposed that the time which had already elapsed, and the anxiety which I had undergone, ought to have brought matters to a favorable issue. I still wanted the payment of a debt, and not the bestowment of grace. I strove hard to make to myself a new heart and a right spirit ; ignorant still of the life-giving spirit." While he was thus "like a help- less captive, sold under the power of sin" — a prisoner — envel- oped in darkness — blind with regard to the method of relief — trusting to his own righteousness, and his own efforts, and not to the righteousness of Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost, the Lord " was leading him by a way he knew not." By this painful process he was teaching him more of his guilt, depravity, and utter helplessness, and the folly and wickedness of trusting to his own righteousness, his morality, his prayers, his religious observances, his resolutions, his convictions and his own unavailing efforts. In this way the awakened sinner, while still in the "gall of bitterness" — nothing better by his convictions, but growing worse and worse every hour — is by an unseen power driven from his refuges of lies — taught hy his own experience the wickedness 360 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. of his heart, and his utter helplessness. Thus cut off from every other hope, and despairing of all created help, he is brought to the foot of the cross, and enabled to say from the heart, "A guilty, weak and helpless worm, On thy kind arms I fall : Be thou my strength and righteousness. My Jesus and my all." After returning to Canonsburg in this distressing state of mind, and after going to bed, the declaration of the Saviour to Zaccheus — " This day is salvation come to this house/' Luke xix : 9 — was brought to his mind with great force, and his mind dwelt upon it with delight, as a certain evidence that he was now an heir of glory — and probably some will be ready to say, surely this is the time of his deliverance, the hour of his conversion to God. But oh the deceitfulness of the heart, and the subtile wiles of the adversary ! His hopes and joys from this source were all a delusion of Satan, " transformed into an angel of light." He was soon mercifully delivered from a delusion, by which many are ruined forever. He soon discovered that a mere suggestion of a text of Scripture, unaccompanied by a change of heart, and the appropriate fruits of holiness, is no better evidence of acceptance with God than the cast of a die, or the "flight of birds." After continuing some days in the same state of anxiety and bondage, it occurred to him " not to work harder, but to believe and depend on Christ for acceptance." This dawn of light, which soon vanished, seems to have been the iirst view of the plan of salvation which had ever entered his darkened mind. A few days after he remarks, " that he degenerated in works, without growing in faith," until restored by the monition of his friend Trimble, who watched over him with prayerful concern. Some days after he awoke in the morning in a very pleasing frame of mind : " I had a view of God's glory, to "which 1 MEMOIR OF REV. JOHN H. KENNEDY. 361 was before a stranger; all nature seemed to be directed by an omnipotent, unerring hand. The doleful melancholy which had brooded over me so long vanished in an instant, and I was enabled to 'rejoice that the Lord God omnipotent reigneth/ " That this was the dawning of spiritual day he seems him- self to have entertained some doubt, as the glory of Grod in Christ was not then distinctly the object of contemplation. But there is l'eason to believe, from subsequent experience, that this was indeed the " star of Bethlehem," although this pleas- mg calm was afterwards beclouded, and his views of a Saviour ind the plan of salvation very obscure, and he might be said \o " see men as trees walking." Yet there is little doubt that \t was the dawn of the sun of righteousness ; and although regeneration is an instantaneous change, and the precise moment difficult to be ascertained, yet with regard to the evidence of it, and the work of sanctification, this is progres- sive, and admits of various degrees, from the first dawning ray to the full blaze of noon. At the close of the winter session, 1819, Mr. Kennedy returned home to Cumberland. Here, in the midst of his old acquaintances and companions, he felt himself as a lonely stranger, without the sympathy of kindred spirits, and rather pointed at by the finger of scorn. He was very conscientious in the discharge of known duty, which cost him sometimes painful sacrifices. His father was absent, at Philadelphia, attending the General Assembly; and he conducted family worship for the first time, not without a painful conflict. Although delivered from that deep distress which he had formerly experienced, and though evidently growing in humil- ity and the knowledge of himself, his sinfulness and weakness, yet he had not those clear and comforting views of a Saviour, by which he could rejoice in him with confidence as "all his salvation and all his delight." At this stage of his expe- rience he found one individual in Cumberland who, in the 31 362 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. sovereign providence of God, was directed to " teach him the way more perfectly." This was a pious German, now an elder in the Presbyterian Church. This man, who had him- self tasted of the " wormwood and the gall/' understood his disease, and directed to the proper remedy. " Oh," said he 7 (with the German accent,) " it is good to feel the wickedness of the heart. We ought to be thankful that God has showed it to us. It is just what the apostle says in the 7th chapter of Romans : ' He then preached to him Christ and him cru- cified, as the end of the law for righteousness.' " From this* time his views of the mediation of Christ, and of acceptance through him, were much altered, and his spiritual prospects proportionably brightened. He now enjoyed peace with God, and at length attained an " assurance of faith," which was seldom interrupted. At this time he was admitted to the communion of the church. At what particular time he expe- rienced regeneration he could not say- — he believed it took place before his admission to the Lord's Supper. He remarks : " What I can principally say on this point is, ' that whereas I was blind, now I see.' " On his return to college, the gloom which had brooded over him so long was dispelled : he became more sociable and cheerful — felt a warmer love for Ch/istians, and a more ten- der concern for impenitent sinners — took an active part in the prayer-meeting — attended to his duties as a student with dili- gence and success. Wisdom's ways were ways of pleasantness. During his whole course at college he sustained a high stand- ing as to talents and scholarship, and graduated with honor, May, 1820. I have dwelt the longer on the religious experience of Mr. Kennedy, because it is • in some respects remarkable, and in itself peculiarly instructive and searching ; and because it appears to have been his desire that this part of his history should be useful and instructive to his family and friends, and the occasion of solemn warning and self-examination r MEMOIR OF REV. JOHN H. KENNEDY. 363 and hence in the biography of himself, which he commenced but did not finish, his experience is that which he has given most in detail. The subsequent years of his life, though furnishing much that is interesting, must be glanced at with more brevity. The summer of 1820 was spent at his father's, in general reading, and in efforts to do good, as he had opportunity. A Bible Society was commenced ; also a prayer-meeting, of which we may be sure the honest German was an important member. Towards the close of the summer there was a pow- erful and extensive awakening in Cumberland and the vicinity. The immediate instruments were Nicholas Patterson, a licen- tiate from the Presbytery of Baltimore, and John Gloucester, a colored man, a member of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, much respected by all classes for his talents and usefulness, and his modest, unassuming piety. Prior to the visit of these ministers, which was providential, serious impressions had been made on the minds of many, no doubt in answer to prayer, and by other instrumentalities. These impressions were now increased and developed : " One soweth and another teapeth j and in both cases the glory should be given to God, xnd not to man. A narrative of this revival was published some time after by Mr. .Kennedy, and extensively circulated. In October, 1820, he started for the Theological Seminary at Princeton. On his way he tarried some time in Franklin, among his friends and acquaintances, and endeavored to improve his visits by faithful personal conversation with individuals. His youthful zeal, which probably was not always regulated by prudence and a correct knowledge of human nature, gave great offence. He soon found that " old Adam was too strong for young Melancthon." Persons alto- gether unaccustomed to such plain dealing, denounced him as an enthusiast and a methodist. It is not pleasant to persons destitute of true piety, and yet relying with self- complacency on an outward form or profession, to have their 364 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. repose disturbed by honest appeals calculated to destroy their delusive hopes. Hence the charge against faithful reprovers, as the "troublers of Israel." November, 1820. He arrived at Princeton, where he studied the regular term of three years. To this period he always reverted with endearing recollections. He commenced his theological studies with diligence and success, and was soon distinguished by his talents and acquirements. In the fall vacation, on his return home, he was taken under the care of Carlisle Presbytery. He revisited his friends, who had been offended with his former plain dealing, and endeavored, not without success, to remove some of their prejudices. Among the various incidents which occurred while at Princeton, he has recorded the death of a dear young brother, (Turner,) to whom he was much attached, and whom he expected to be his companion and fellow-laborer as a missionary. The following I find in his notes : " When the hand of death was evidently upon him, the brethren were called into his room, and he was strengthened to utter a few sentences. 'I go/ says he, 'to the world of spirits. Be more faithful than I have been ; and may the Lord make you instrumental in tearing down the strongholds of sin and satan.' He had trusted his salvation on Christ in life, and ' none but Jesus' was his cry in death. He bade them all farewell — shook hands with the professors and his physician, expressing his thanks for their kindness. Prayer was offered and a hymn sung. The scene was solemn and affecting — to see seventy young men, with the professors and physician, all melted in tears." This case, and that of another student, (Krebbs,) dying in the triumph of faith, seemed to disarm death of his terrors. " No event," says he, " ever disarmed death so much of his terrors to me. The same effect I find was produced on the minds of others." During the winter or spring of 1821, he visited Morris- town, New Jersey, where a powerful revival had commenced, MEMOIR OF REV. JOHN H. KENNEDY. 365 which pervaded the whole country. This visit was profitable to himself, and useful to others. His own experience quali- fied him for being a safe and useful adviser to anxious souls, to guard them against the various refuges and delusions which he had himself experienced. October, 1822 — He was licensed to preach the gospel — aged twenty years and ten months. Deeply impressed with the responsibilities of the work to which he was to be devoted, he set apart a day for fasting and prayer, a duty which he often practiced in the succeeding years of his life. After his licensure to preach the gospel, he continued his studies another year at Princeton. During his residence at Princeton he was frequently har- assed with doubts, which he had never entertained, even in his former impenitent state. These doubts respected the very foundations of religion, the truth of the Scriptures, and even the existence of God. They were exceedingly distress- ing, and of long continuance. They did not arise from any want of arguments in support of the truth. These he con- sidered conclusive ; and the objections against these great fundamental truths he considered of no weight in point of argument, and yet he was often greatly distressed on account of bis want of a pleasing, satisfactory conviction of the truth. It did not, indeed, influence his conduct, but interrupted his comfort. It was plainly a device of the enemy ; and after conversing with Dr. Alexander, he found that the difficulty was not to be removed by mere argument, or by the exercise of his own reasoning alone, but by the effectual application of the truth to his heart by the mighty power of God. In this way he sought and found relief, and was never afterwards troubled with these doubts. During his last year at the Seminary, the doctrines denominated Hopkinsian were fre- quently the subject of warm discussion. In these discussions Mr. Kennedy took an active and decided part, in opposition \o what he believed erroneous in these doctrines. A debate, 31* 366 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. prepared at that time on the subject of the atonement, was afterwards published in the first volume of the Christian Advocate. Its admission into that periodical by the venerable editor, Dr. Green, is no slight evidence of its intrinsic ability and excellence, though written by one who had just arrived at the years of manhood. In an intellectual point of view these discussions were of service to him ; and whilst he con- tended for what he believed important truths — being a Calvinist of the real old school — it did not alienate his affections from his brethren who differed from him. The following is from notes written soon after leaving Princeton, September, 1823 : " Our exercises before and at parting were very affecting. While sitting with my dear brethren at the last communion season, I thought affectingly of our Lord's declaration, Matt. xxvi : 29 — ' I will not henceforth drink of this fruit of the vine (with you) until that day/ &c. At our last Saturday evening prayer meeting, I asked a full and hearty pardon of all, whose feelings I might at any time have injured. We had a truly melting time. To all my brethren I was sincerely attached ; and no diversity of sentiment could wean me from those in whom I perceived so much of the divine nature. I sincerely seek and love and defend the truth, but can love and rejoice in all those who maintain and adorn the leading features of the gospel. Of my brethren in the Seminary I can sincerely say, ' In such society as this, my willing soul would stay.' Towards my class-mates I had feelings of peculiar regard — with whom a three years' intercourse made me well acquainted." Leaving the Seminary in the fall of 1823, he intine.rates in different directions about eighteen months. He preached for some time in Bedford, and Uniontown, Pennsylvania ; traveled through some of the Western States; visited Madi- MEMOIR OF REV. JOHN H. KENNEDY. 367 son, in Indiana, where no doubt he took occasion to weep over the grave of his friend Trimble. He traveled also to the South, and preached for some time at Wilmington and Fayetteville, North Carolina. In the month of April, 1825, he again arrives at his father's, who had now returned to his former residence, in Franklin county. In the summer he visits Philadelphia — preaches in the Sixth Church, as a supply, for three months — receives a call from that congregation, and was ordained and installed as their pastor, November, 1825, in the twenty-fourth year of his age, Previously to his settlement in the Sixth Church he had been appointed chaplain, to go out in the Brandywine, the government vessel, appointed to carry La Fayette back to his native land. This appointment was by some means prevented from reaching him until after his installment. Had he re- ceived it sooner it might have given a new direction to the current of his life. His settlement in Philadelphia was unsought, as it was unexpected, by himself. The station was one of great importance and responsibility for so young a man. The Sixth Church grew out of a division of the old Pine Street Church, of which Dr. Alexander had been pastor when called to Princeton. On the settlement of Dr. Ely, this division took place, and the Sixth Church was formed. It contained a large portion of intelligence, piety and respectability ; but its location in the vicinity of other churches, and certain pecuniary embarrassments, were unfavorable to its growth. It had become vacant by the resignation of Dr. Neil, who had accepted a call to the Presidency of Dickinson College. After laboring a year in this congregation, and discouraged at his prospect of usefulness, he determines to resign his charge. The Presbytery meet, and with the concurrent desire of the congregation, persuade him to remain. His intention was at this time to have gone to Liberia ; and he often expressed his regret that he yielded to the advice to 868 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON college* remain in Philadelphia, as he remarks that he then "had a burning zeal in behalf of Africa — -such as he never felt in behalf of any other object." In 1828 he was married to Miss Harriet McCalinont, of Philadelphia, whose intelligence, piety, and accomplished education, qualified her eminently for being to him a prudent counselor and cheering companion. December, 1829, at his own request, his connexion with the Sixth Church was dissolved, having continued their pastor four years. During this period he discharged the duties of his office with ability and faithfulness. The visible fruits of his ministry were not equal to his desires, and hence his frequent discouragements, which resulted in his resignation ; yet his labors were blessed to the edification of Christians, and a goodly number added to the church. The charge of a congregation in a city is one of great responsibility and hazard, especially to a young man; yet was Mr. Kennedy enabled to sustain a high and increasing reputation among his brethren, and the intelligent part of the religious corn* munity, as an able, lucid and instructive preacher of the gospel. It is known that he stood very high in the estima- tion of his venerable patron and friend, Dr. Green, who occupied a pew in his church, and sat with delight under the ministry of his young fricud. His connection with his congregation was dissolved, December, 1829. He now commits himself to the providence of God, without any definite object or plan as to future settlement. He is urged to make a tour to Missouri, with a view of settlement at St. Charles, and accordingly leaves Philadelphia with that intention. The severity of the season prevents him, and he is detained in Franklin county. A call is prepared for him from the congregation of Newville — one of the largest and wealthiest in Carlisle Presbytery. At this crisis, being uncertain and anxious as to the path of duty, he sets apart, as was his frequent custom, a day of fasting and prayer, to seek divine direction. It was the 11th of March, MEMOIR OP REV. JOHN H. KENNEDY. 369 1830. It is worthy of observation that on the evening of this same day, altogether unexpected to him, he received a letter from this place, inquiring as to his views in relation to a professorship in this college, in connection with the charge of a small congregation, about five miles distant. He was at first startled at the proposal of a Professorship in Mathematics, for which he considered himself less qualified than for any other department. On further consideration, with the hope that by diligent exertion he might be prepared for the service, he is inclined to accept. He visits this place in May, receives and accepts the appointment from the col- lege, and a call from the congregation of Centre. He returns to Philadelphia, and arrives here with his family, and enters on the duties of his profession, June, 1830. Professor Miller, in view of whose resignation, on account of age, the appointment was made, still continued to officiate for some time. This afforded opportunity for Mr. Kennedy gradually to prepare himself for conducting the departments of Natural Philosophy and Mathematics, which he was ena- bled to do with great credit to himself, and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. After the division of the departments of Natural Science and Mathematics, and the appointment of a distinct Professor for the latter, he devoted himself more exclusively to Natural Philosophy and Chemis- try, in which he greatly excelled. His life and history during his residence among us for ten years is known to us all, and need not here be detailed. As an instructor, he was thorough, discriminating, accurate and lucid in his illustrations. As a member of the faculty, he was energetic, faithful, fearless, and always ready to share the responsibility of discipline and government. As a preacher, he was instructive, solemn, searching and forcible. As a pastor, he was laborious and faithful. 370 HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. As a writer, he was characteristically lucid, simple and concise. "Multum in parvo" appeared to be his motto in all his productions. He wrote with great facility, and furnished for " the periodicals" a number of essays, which do him great credit. His talents were various, and in some respects of a high order. He had more of the intellectual than the aesthetic — more of argumentation than poetry, in his composition — more of the instructive than the pathetic. There was one pecu- liarity in which he was defective. There was something in the construction of his mind which led him to attach undue importance to little things, as though he viewed them through a magnifying glass. This induced him sometimes to give a prominence to smaller matters, and to press the weaker points. This was noticed while he was a student at Princeton, and has been noticed in some of his literary productions. This con- stitutional peculiarity had no doubt an influence also in his worldly plans, which induced him to engage in various schemes and enterprises, which his friends considered rather unwise and visionary. His manner was not always the best. There was something in this which at times had the appearance of harshness and severity. He was remarkably honest and faithful in testify- ing against sin, wherever it appeared. He seemed habitually to act on the principle, " thou shalt not hate thy neighbor in thine heart. Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, nor suffer sin upon him/' It is not surprising, therefore, that he sometimes gave offence. Still it may be questioned whether offences of this kind are not to be charged to the too general unfaithfulness in this respect of professors, Christians and ministers, rather than to a want of prudence on the part of the faithful reprover. Mr. Kennedy was a man of great benevolence and liberality This feature of his character was not generally understood. MEMOIR OF REV. JOHN H. KENNEDY. 371 In his worldly transactions he was exact ; and perhaps some- times too particular in smaller matters. But when proper objects of benevolence were presented, no man amongst us was more liberal, according to his means. Besides the public contributions, in which he was always among the first, he performed many acts of private liberality, unknown to the world. Finally. — Considered as a Christian, " the highest style of man," I need add nothing to the narrative already given. His soul-searching experience, his prayers and fastings, his conscientiousness and stern integrity, his self-denial, his stead- fast faith on the righteousness of Christ, his abhorrence of sin, his desires and endeavors after holiness, and habitual aim to glorify God, gave " lucid proof" of sincere piety while he lived, which was confirmed in his death. His health began seriously to decline last winter. A jour- ney to the East during the summer proved unprofitable, and he returned home to die in the bosom of his family. He looked forward to the hour of his death without dread. Still he clung to life ; and although with regard to himself he had no fears, and could say, " to be with Christ is best ;" yet when he looked around on his wife and little children, and the prospect of leaving them exposed and unprotected in such a world as this, he greatly desired to live. At length, how- ever, he was enabled with sweet acquiescence to commit the precious charge to Him who said, " Leave thy fatherless chil- dren ; I will preserve them ; and let thy widows trust in me." His old enemy did not fail to assail him in his weak state, and when near the close of his life, with doubts as to the founda- tion of his hope. These, however, were soon dispelled, and he afterwards enjoyed uninterrupted calmness to the last. A few days before his release he spoke of his departure with great composure and confidence. When the weather per- mitted, he was usually taken out in a carriage. On return- 372 HISTORY OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. ing, a day or two before his death, be said that was his last ride : in bis next remove be " would be carried by angels into Abraham's bosom." On tbe 15th of December, in the thirty- ninth year of his age, he died without a struggle, and " sweetly fell asleep in Jesus." He has left behind a venerable father and beloved brothers and sisters to mourn — but they ought not to mourn as those who have no hope. He has left a beloved wife and five young children ; but the God of the widow and tbe fatherless, to whom they have been committed in faith, will provide for them. The legacy of their father's pious example, his counsels and his prayers, is of more value to his children than all the treasures of the world. APPENDII THE ORIGIN OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. After this work was placed in the hand of the printer, a very interesting document, containing a careful and elaborate inquiry respecting the first movements in the cause of classical and scientific education west of the mountains, was sent to us by its highly respected author, Prof. Robert Patterson, of Oakland College, Mississippi. We doubt not that it will fully meet the wishes of those who still adopt the current traditions on this subject, and who have felt aggrieved that any attempt has ever been made to call them in question. After the reader has bestowed upon it a careful perusal, we respectfully ask him to hear what we shall submit in reply. WHERE WAS THE FIRST LITERARY INSTITUTION WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS? • Not four score years have yet elapsed since the first humble hall of learn- ing fras erected in the great Western Valley, and already has it become a subject of dispute, what spot is entitled to the honor of being regarded as its site? The fact itself is a forcible exemplification of the facility with which the Present forgets its obligations to the Past. Three institutions only have been named, so far as the writer is aware, as competitors for this honor : established, respectively, by Rev. Joseph Smith, of Buffalo ; by Rev. Thaddeus Dodd, of Ten Mile ; and by Rev. John M'Millan, D. D., of Chartiers — all three congregations in Washington county, Pennsylvania. 1st. The first of these, that of the Rev. Joseph Smith, was undeniably in existence in 1785, as appears from a memorandum of Rev. Joseph Patterson, " Old Redstone," page 81, and probably continued until 1787 or 1 788. There is no evidence that it was in existence either anterior or subsequent to the period named. Neithor has any direct evidence been brought to the notice of the writer, to establish the fact that the Latin and Greek languages were taught at all in this institution. The object of Mr. Smith appears to have 32 (373) 374 APPENDIX. been mainly, if not exclusively, to furnish a theological education. Such is the opinion expressed in a letter to the writer, by Rev. Dr. Jacob Lindley, who was well acquainted with Mr. Smith's pupils, and a school-mate of some of them at Rev. Mr. Dodd's school ; who states that he never heard Mr. Smith's school spoken of as a classical school. A similar opinion was expressed to the writer by Mrs. Harper and Mr. John M'Millan, children of Rev. John M'Millan, D. D., who had frequently heard their father and others speak of Rev. Mr. Dodd's as a classical school, but never of Mr. Smith's as such. This minor point may perhaps have no relevancy to the question more immediately under examination, and indeed this character of Mr. Smith's school seems to bo admitted on page 146 " Old Redstone ;" as also in the same paragraph the priority of Mr. Dodd's school to Mr. Smith's is distinctly conceded. If this view be correct, the question will be narrowed down to the consideration of the rival claims of the seminaries of Mr. Dodd and of Mr. M'Millan. 2d. It is stated, " Old Redstone," page 145, that the building occupied by Mr. Dodd as an academy was erected in 1 781, and (page 146) that " here, in 1782, began the first classical and scientific school in the West." In this connection may be introduced the following extract from the letter already referred to from Rev. Dr. Jacob Lindley, dated June 2d, 1854 : "My parents, when I was eight years of age, imbibed the notion that I was pious, and sent me to the school of the prophets, which was kept in a large log house erected for the purposo, some fifty steps from Mr. Dodd's dwelling. It was sufficiently large for three or four beds, with room for tables, &c. I was sent thero to live with Mr. Dodd and to study Latin, in A. D. 1782, and remained there till 1784. The Latin students then with Mr. Dodd, were James Hughs, John Brice, Robert Marshall, Francis Dunlavy, John Hannah, Daniel Lindley, David Smith, (father of Rev. Joseph Smith, D. D.,) Robert Marshall, Jr., (son of Col. James Marshall, of Buffalo,) and Jacob Lindley. Mathematical students, Daniel McFarland, Joseph Eddy, Thomas Stokely, and Thomas Gormly. All boarded with Mr. Dodd. Others were there for short seasons and left. Mr. Dodd never taught a common English school in Pennsylvania. Mr. Joseph Smith's school was a theologi- cal school, as I always understood from the young men above named, the most of whom were members of Mr. Smith's church. I certainly never heard of a Latin school of Mr. Smith's. " In the latter part of 1785, as I think, Mr. Dodd sold the farm where his school was, and moved into his lower congregation. I suppose Mr. Dodd's Latin students went and studied theology under Mr. Smith, viz : Hughs, Marshall, Hannah, David Smith, and perhaps Dunlavy. Mr. Joseph Patter- son studied theology partly under Mr. M'Millan, and partly imdor Mr. Smith. He never studied Latin or Greek. " At the time, a little before or a little after, Mr. Dodd's school broke up, THE ORIGIN OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 375 Mr. M'Millan took in a number of students for the ministry. I do not per- sonally know so much about them. ''From the time I was eight years old, no amusement could divert my attention from the conversation of my father and the ministers, when on the subject of religion and ministerial education. All is in memory, as nails driven in a sure place. But to proceed. " I have said Mr. M'Millan's classical school succeeded that of Mr. Dodd. Some time in December, 17S5, by the united influence of tho members of Redstone Presbytery, a chartor was procured for an academy in Washington, with a donation of 5,000 acres of land. Of the Trustees appointed, were Rev. Messrs. M'Millan, Dodd, Smith and Clark, of the Presbyterian Church, Rev. Matthew Henderson, of the Secession, and John Corbley, of the Bap- tist Church: also, Judges Edgar, McDowell, Allison, &c, &c. Messrs. Dodd, Smith and M'Millan woro tho movers in the plan. From the time of that charter, Mr. M'Millan and others set head and shoulders to build up a semi- nary in Washington. A unanimous appointment was made of Mr. Dodd to commence literary operations there. As there was no house built, for the purpose, the commissioners offered the court-house to teach in. Mr. Dodd would consent to leave his congregations but for one year; and then some other one whom the Trustees might provide, was to take his place. This being agreed upon, Mr. Dodd entered on his appointment on the 1st of April, 1789. At the end of the year, as the Trustees had not yet succeeded in obtaining another teacher, Mr. Dodd remained three months longer. Mr. David Johnston succeeded Mr. Dodd. In the winter, after Mr. Johnston took charge of the academy, the court-house was burned down, and Air. Johnston was taken to Canonsburg. The inhabitants of Washington, at that time, had but little piety, science or liberality to buildva house or sustain a literary institution, and none to sustain a preacher. Through the perseve- rance of Mr. M'Millan, and the liberality of Col. Canon, a lot was given, moneys advanced, and Canonsburg Academy was built in short order. Dr. M'Millan turned his scholars into it; some of Mi". Johnston's came from Washington; some from Pittsburgh, and other, places, and Canonsburg was respected as the literary depot of the West. It was with no small reluctance that Dr. M'Millan withdrew his patronage from Washington ; but when com- pelled to do this, he turned his gigantic might to Canonsburg. He ought to be considered as the God-father — the Almus Pater of Jefferson College." It would appear from the account above given that Mr. Dodd's school was commenced in 1782, continued till 1785, and then closed upon his change of residence ; nor is there any evidence that it was ever resumed. No one has contended that the election of Mr. Dodd, nearly four years afterwards, to the post of Principal of the Washington Academy, as being at the time the most available man for that position, and with a distinct stipulation on his part that the appointment was only temporary, to enable the Trustees to nccuro a permanent teacher, — there being also no transfer of a school — in 376 APPENDIX. any wise constituted that academy the lineal descendant of Mr. Dodd's school ; nor is it easy to conceive upon what principles of succession any such claim of connection could he maintained. If it be affirmed that the teacher constitutes the school, then Mr. Dodd's mantle, which must have descended upon his successor, Mr. David Johnston, was by him transferred to the Canonsburg Academy in 1791. It is proper to remark that the account given by Rev. Dr. Lindley of the close of Mr. Dodd's connection with the Washington Academy differs from the one given in " Old Redstone," page 147 ; inasmuch as Mr. Dodd's return to Ten Mile seoms to have preceded the destruction of the court-house by fire, and not to have been a consequence of that catastrophe. Dr. Lindley, as Dr. M'Millan had done many years before, assigns for the temporary sus- pension of the Washington Academy, and the location of a similar institu- tion in Canonsburg, another cause than the conflagration of the court- house. The result of our inquiries thus far appears to be that Mr. Dodd's school was commenced in 1782, was continued till 1785, and then closed; that Mr. Smith's school was commenced in 1785, was continued until 1787 or 1788, and then closed ; and that the Washington Academy, which had been incor- porated September 24th, 1787, was opened in 1789, closed temporarily in 1791, and its teacher transferred to the Canonsburg Academy. It only remains to investigate the claims to priority of the school taught by Rev. Dr. M'Millan. 3d. Before introducing any evidence in regard to the last-named institu- tion, it may be proper to apprise the general reader that the prevailing opinion in the neighborhood of the school itself and at Jefferson College, so far back as the writer has been able to trace it, has been that, about the year 1780, Rev. Dr. M'Millan commenced a classical school at or near his residence ; that ho was then, or soon thereafter, assisted in conducting the same by Hon. James Ross, then a young man, afterwards, during the administration of Gen. AVashington, a distinguished Senator of the United States; that with perhaps some intermissions the school continued until it was merged in tho Canonsburg Academy, in 1791. More recently, three opinions have been broached : 1st. That Dr. M'Millan's school was not commenced till after 1785, upon tho disruption of Mr. Dodd's school; 2d. Perhaps not until 1788, upon the discontinuance of Mr. Smith's school; 3d. That if there was a school at Dr. M'Millan's, taught either by himself or by James Ross, prior to 1785, it was only an English, and in no sense a classical ono. The sub- stantiation of any one of these hypotheses would establish the priority of the classical school at Ten Mile. They may therefore be classed under o-- > general head, and the evidence for and against them respectively be consi ered together. In support of those moro recent opinions, in regard to Dr. M'MillaD school, may be adduced — THE ORIGIN OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 877 1st. The evidonce of Rev. Dr. Jacob Lindley, who states, in the extracts quoted above, that Dr. M'Millan's school succeeded that of Mr. Dodd. 2d. The impressions of Rev. Dr. James Carnahan, as contained in a letter to the writer, dated Juno 3d, 1854, of which the following extract contains all that is relevant to the present point : "I have no personal knowledge of Dr. M'Millan's school in the 'Log- Cabin.' All I know is from reports heard when I was at school at Canons- burg. Part of the time I boarded at the same house (Patrick Scott's) with a young man who had lived for several years in Dr. M'Millan's family, and managed his farming operations. This man's name was Wilkins. He was from the same neighborhood east of the mountains with Dr. M'Millan. Whon I knew Mr. Wilkins, although above thirty years old, he was learning Latin with a view to the gospel ministry. As his progress was slow, he gave up his books and resumed his former occupation. " The statement of this man respecting the Hon. James Ross, who taught school in the log-cabin, was, that he was the son of a pious widow lady in moderate circumstances, in the place of Dr. M'Millan's nativity ; that her early wish and prayer was that her son should become a minister of the gos- pel ; that she sent him to a grammar school ; that when he had made con- adorable proficiency in Latin and Greek, and was nearly of age, with the Advice and consent of his mother, he crossed the mountains and directed his steps to Dr. M'Millan's. As there was no school in the neighborhood, Mr. M'Millan built a small log-cabin near his rosidence, and engaged Mr. Ross to teach his own and his neighbor's children, while at the same time Mr. Ross continued his studies in Latin, Greek, and mathematics, under the direction of Mr. M'Millan. From the statements of Wilkins, tho impression made in my mind was that Mr. Ross taught an English school. I have no recollection that Wilkins named James Hughs, John Brice, Robert Marshall, and others, as learning Latin or Greek with Mr. M'Millan. Some of them, and Samuel Porter, were spoken of as reading theology under the direction of Dr. M'Millan. " My friend, the lato Dr. M. Brown, has given another version of the school taught by Mr. Ross. He speaks of James Ross as an accomplished Latin and Greek scholar, and as having taught these languages in the 'Log-Cabin.' During my residence at Canonsburg from 1793 to 1798, I never heard Mr. James Ross spoken of as an accomplished classical scholar. As a man of uncommon talent, an eminent lawyer and an eloquent advocate, he was highly and justly celebrated. This reputation he had obtained beforo 1793. This fact renders it probable that ho taught in the ' Log-Cabin' before 1785. Yet I have no means of fixing the precise date. Dr. Brown may have had good authority for stating that James R.oss taught the first Latin school west of the mountains. My impressions to the contrary were received from Mr. Wilkins, and while at Canonsburg I never heard a different statement. Your father is perhaps tho best living witnoss in regard to the origin of Latin 32* 378 APPENDIX. schools west of the mountains. He had nearly finished his Latin and Greek studies when I went to Canonsburg, and went, I think in the autumn of 1794, to the University of Pennsylvania." 3d. The fact, as stated in " Old Redstone," page 77, that " the records of the Presbytery of Redstone show that there were no licentiates under their care, who had received their previous scholastic or theological training from Dr. M'Millan," till after the discontinuance of Mr. Smith's school, " and that all the first ministers had received thoir instruction either from Mr. Dodd or Mr. Smith." Further, that if there was such a school at Dr. M'Mil- lan's, prior to 1785, in which young men were instructed in languages and sciences, it is strange that " not one of them can now be found, and there is no mention of such in the minutes of the Presbytery." 4th. The evidence of Mrs. Irwin, (" Old Redstone," page 77,) an aged lady, now residing near Marysville, Ohio, who was between twelve and fifteen years of age, and resided near Mr. Smith, during the continuance of his school. Mrs. Irwin states "that in 1785 Mr. Smith opened a school for assisting and training young men for the gospel ministry ; that this was the first movement made for preparing young men for the ministry; that there was no such school at this time at Chartiers, nor until after the ono at Buffalo was discon- tinued ; that Mr. McGready came to the school from Dr. M'Millan's, with whom ho had been living, not as a student, but as a laborer on his farm." 5th. The evidence (" Old Redstone," page 78,) of Rev. Dr. Cephas Dodd, of Amity, Pennsylvania, son of Rev. Thaddeus Dodd, who states that " there ••was an agreement made between Mr. Smith and Mr. Dodd, by which they engaged alternately to superintend tho education of certain young men who had the ministry in view," and of this number that " Messrs. James Hughs, John Brico, Robert Marshall, John Hanna and David Smith, were with Mr. Dodd from about 1783 to 1786, and for the remainder of tho time with Mr. Smith," but " were never under the tuition of Dr. M'Millan ;" and that " others, as Messrs. Patterson, McGready, and Porter, were instructed solely by Mr. Smith." Cth. The letter of Dr. M'Millan to Dr. Carnahan, dated March 26th, 1832, ("Old Redstone," page 79,) in which he enumerates Messrs. Patterson, Hughs, Brice, McGready, Swan, Porter, Marquis, and McPhorrin, as all of the second set of ministers, who were raised up in this country ; which enu- meration, taken in connection with what is above stated, has been considered as corroborative testimony. 7th. The authority of an original manuscript of Dr. M'Millan in tho pos- session of tho author of " Old Redstone," (soopagol92,) in which the Doctor mentions Messrs. Hughs, Brice, McGready and Porter, "as his first scholars" — and as part of the material with which his school began; showing that "this school, which Dr. M'Millan collected, consisting of these young men, as he expressly statos, could not possibly have begun until after 1785," inas- much as they had been with either Mr. Dodd or Mr. Smith before that time. THE ORIGIN OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 379 8th. A memorandum of tho Rev. Joseph Patterson, cited in " Old Red- stone," page 81, to the following purport: "In the fall of 1785, being thirty-three years old, it was thought best, with the advice of tho Presbytery of Redstone, that I should endeavor to prepare for the gospel ministry. There being no places of public education in this country, I, with a few others, studied with the Rov. Joseph Smith, of Buffalo congregation, Wash- ington county, Pennsylvania." 9th. An extract from the letter of Rev. Robert Patterson to Rev. Dr. M. Brown, October 1st, 1346, as follows, (" Old Redstone," page 81.) "Between 1780 and 1790, and chiefly in the latter part of these ten years, some of the few Presbyterian clergymen living west of the mountains in Pennsylvania, wero in the habit of giving instruction in tho languages and sciences to young men, whose object in their studies was the gospel ministry. The Rev. Messrs. Joseph Smith and John M'Millan were distinguished in their devo- tion to this cause," &c, Ac. The above enumeration exhausts the arguments, so far as they have come to the knowledge of the writer, which would tend to show that Dr. M'Mil- lan's was not the first classical and scientific school in the West, if a classi- cal school at all. It may perhaps be well before advancing any reasons for an opposite opinion to review the foregoing as briefly as possible, and endeavor to ascertain how much there is of direct and positive testimony in all that has been adduced. In the first place, the evidence of Rev. Dr. Lindley is perhaps tho strongest and most direct. He is positive in regard to the clearness of his recollection since his eighth year, or since 1782, and affirms that Mr. M'Millan took in a number of students for the ministry about the time that Mr. Dodd's school closed : but adds that he has little personal knowledgo in regard to them ; and it will be seen that he makes no profession of any personal knowledge or recollection of events prior to 1782. There does not appear therefore to bo an j' necessary conflict between this statement and tho fact, if such fact be hereafter made to appear, that Dr. M'Millan's school was established before that timo. There may have been intermissions in Dr. M'Millan's school ; •and that portion of its existence of which Dr. Liudley had some personal knowledge, was subsequent to, or coincident with the close of Mr. Dodd's institution. To reprosent Dr. Lindley as affirming positively that Dr. M'Mil- lan's school had no existence whatover at any time prior to 1785, would not only be subjecting his language quoted above to a most violent and arbitrary construction, but would be representing him as affirming that to be true of which he denies any special personal knowledge, and for the contrary of which explicit testimony will be hereafter adduced on the part of those who enjoyed better opportunities for acquiring information. If this view of the case be not correct, it only remains for the reader to reconcile, on some other hypothesis, the reminiscences of Dr. Lindley with those of other equally competent witnesses, to be noticed hereafter. 380 APPENDIX. In the second place, the evidence of Rev. Dr. Carnahan is professedly of a derivative character. Mr. Wilkins, the source of Dr. Carnahan's impros- sions, had been a laborer upon Dr. M'Millan's farm ; but it does not appear at what time, nor what opportunities he possessed for acquiring information} facts important to be known before we can estimate the proper weight of his testimony. The period to which our attention is directed was some ten or fifteen years previous to the acquaintance of Dr. Carnahan with Mr. Wilkins; and the residence of the latter on the farm of Dr. M'Millan may have been long subsequent to the departure of Mr. Ross. It does not even appear that Mr. Wilkins affirmed that either Mr. Ross or Dr. M'Millan did not teach the languages ; but only that such was the impression produced on the mind of Dr. Carnahan from the statements made. That this impression may have been erroneous, or the author of it mistaken, no one, upon proper evidence, would more readily admit than the venerable Dr. Carnahan himself. A doubt seems to be expressed as to the character of Dr. M'Millan's school, whether the languages were taught at all; but this question is set at rest by the published letter to Dr. Carnahan himself from Dr. M'Millan, in which he expressly states that ho gave instruction in Latin and Greek. If Mr. Wilkins produced an erroneous impression in this particular, he may have been equally inaccurate in other respects. The precise proficiency of Mr. Ross in the classics is a side issue, not immediately relevant to the question now under consideration, and may bo dismissed. In the third place, the records of the Presbytery of Redstone simply show that Messrs. John Brice and James Hughs were received on trial, as candi- dates for the ministry, August loth, 17S6; Messrs. Joseph Patterson and James McGready, April 17th, 1787; and others, in like manner, at subse- quent times. The records in no instance state under whose instruction the candidates respectively were. It is difficult to comprehend, therefore, in what manner these records of themselves can be made to throw any light upon the question under examination. They simply show tho dates at which certain young men wore received as candidates, and they do not appear to show any thing more. If it be agreed that the silence of the records in regard to any candidates prior to August loth, 1786, proves that there could have been no school at Dr. M'Millan's for such candidates before that time, the circumstance proves too much ; _as it would equally follow for the same reason, that there could have been no such school at Mr. Dodd's prior to that time; which would be contrary to the admitted fact. And if this mode of reasoning is therefore clearly inapplicable to Mr. Dodd's school, with still less justice can it be applied to an earlier school, whose pupils, like thoro of Mr. Dodd, were not sufficiently advanced in their studies to submit themselves to an examination by Presbytery ; moro especially if tho opinion be correct, that Dr. M'Millan's school was in existence for more than a year before the Presbytery of Red- stone was organized. THE ORIGIN OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 381 As to the statement, that of tho pupils of Dr. M'Millan prior to 1785, "not one of them can now be found," evidence will be submitted presently to show who a number of them were. Were it impossible, however, after the lapse of more than seventy years, now to designate with certainty a single pupil, that circumstance would not of itself be conclusive that there had been no such school. The present discussion has furnished abundant evidence to show how rapidly the memory of persons and events fades from the minds of men. In the fourth place, the evidence of Mrs. Irwin, who states explicitly that Mr. Smith's school, in 1785, was " the first movement made for preparing young men for the ministry," is directly and irreconcilably in conflict with tho fact that such a movement was made by Mr. Dodd three years before ; and accordingly the author of " Old Redstone" has very handsomely (page 146) abandoned the false position which this testimony of Mrs. Irwin had led him to assume. Her statement that " there was no such school at Char- tiers until the one at Buffalo was discontinued," is at variance with tho tes- timony of Rev. Dr. Lindley, cited above, who states that Dr. M'Millan's school was in existence " at the time when Mr. Dodd's broke up, a little before, or a little after." Her testimony in regard to Mr. McGready, that ho had been living with Dr. M'Millan, and that, too, as a laborer, and not as a student, is pointedly contradicted by the testimony of Mrs. Harper, the oldest child of Dr. M'Millan, who stated to the writer that Mr. McGready, whom she well remembers, lived with Judge M'Dowell, but studied Latin with her father, and taught an English school for him, which school Mrs. Harper herself attended, having learned to read from Mr. McGready ; and that he nover worked as a laborer for her father, unless in kindly giving his assistance in attending to the stock during her father's occasional absence. Mrs. Irwin's testimony in tho same particular is contradicted by the ovidenco of Mrs. Park, the daughter of Judge M'Dowell, who, without any knowledge of Mrs. Harper's testimony, stated to tho writer that she distinctly remem- bered Mr. McGready as living at her father's, studying Latin there, and going to Dr. M'Millan's to recite. It is equally at variance, in this particu- lar, with the recollection of Rev. Dr. Cephas Dodd, who is also strongly of the impression, as he states in a letter to the writer, that Mr. McGready was a student of Dr. M'Millan's, though he has inadvertently expressed himself to the contrary in " Old Redstone," page 79 — a very pardonable inaccuracy, which yet occasioned no little uneasiness to Dr. Dodd. It is also worthy of remark, in the same connection, that in about eighteen months after Mr. Smith's school commenced, Mr. McGready, whose name does not appear on any list of Mr. Dodd's pupils, and who, according to Mrs. Irwin's testimony, had been heretofore a farm-laborer, presented himself to tho Presbytery as a candidate for the ministry, ("Old Redstone," page 350,) was examined in logic, moral philosophy, Latin and Greek, — his examinations all sustained, — and an exegesis assigned for the next meeting — " An ait concuraua Dei cum 382 APPENDIX. omnibus Jiominum actionibusf" — and all these attainments, we are asked to believe, were made in less time, after the student left the piough, than would be requisite to qualify him, even with diligent study, for admission to tho Froshrnan class of any respectable college at the present day. In fact Mr. McGready was licensed in about fifteen months afterwards. One of three things will be readily admitted : either that the standard of classical attain- ment in the Presbytery of Redstone was not of a very exalted character, or that Mr. McGready acquired knowledge with a facility which does not often fall to the lot of men ; or that Mrs. Irwin must have been mistaken in affirm- ing that he had not been a student with Dr. M'Millan. Nor could it fail to bo matter of surprise, were it indeed true, that Dr. M'Millan had permitted a young man of undoubted piety and talent, brought from North Carolina and placed under his care expressly to be fitted for the ministerial office, in which his labors were afterwards so abundantly blessed, to remain for years without instruction, engaged in tho menial labors of his farm. But it is perhaps a waste of words to discuss the credibility of this testi- mony any further, since the author of " Old Redstone" has himself so entirely sot it aside, when it camo in conflict with the obstinate fact of the existence of Mr. Dodd's school; and if that fact had passed from Mrs. Irwin's memory, still more easily might tho recollection of a yet earlier school escape, if she were even aware of events that are believed to have occurred at a time when sho was, according to her own showing, about five years of age, and at a place from which she was some ten or fifteen miles distant. It is unnecessary to say that no one will for a moment suppose that Mrs. Irwin would willfully misstate facts of which she had either personal or indirect knowledge; but it is impossible to escape the conclusion that either she, or others who have been named, must have failed in their recollections ; and to which side the balance of probability inclines, tho reader will decide for himself. In the fifth place, it will bo seen on examination of the ovidonce of Rov. Dr. Dodd, that ho simply mentions the names of certain persons who were not pupils of Rev. Dr. M'Millan, which is not at all inconsistent with the fact, if it be made to appear, that there were other persons who were his pupils. He has expressed his conviction, as remarked above, that ho was in error in regard to one of them ; and it is probable, as will hereafter appear, that he was also in error in regard to others. It is due to Dr. Dodd to state that he remarks in a letter to the writer, dated May 17th, 1854, that that ho " was too young and too far distant to know anything personally of Dr. M'Millan's school." In tho sixth place, in his published letter to Dr. Carnahan, Dr. M'Millan nowhere states who were his first pupils, neither does he specify who were his pupils at all, nor fix tho year in which his school commenced. It is f mattor both of surprise and regret, that in a letter so full of dates, he shoulf have omitted the one most interesting of all, and that he did not by a stroke of his pen set the question now under discussion at rest forever. THE ORIGIN OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 383 In the seventh place, if the ''original manuscript of Dr. M'Millan" is one which has never been published, it is greatly to be regretted that the author of "Old Redstono" has not given it to the world. It is impossible for the public to form any intelligent judgment respecting the contents of a docu- ment they have never seen, the extracts from which are given in imperfect sentences ; and this is all that can be said of it. If, however, the document in question is a transcript of the letter to Dr. Carnahan, referred to above, as the similarity of the phraseology in the extracts (" Old Redstone," pages 79, 80, and 192,) would seem to indicate, a re-perusal of that letter cannot fail to convince our candid and valued friend that he has possibly misconceived its import. In one part of his let- ter, Dr. M'Millan states that he had collected a few young men, whom he taught the Latin and Greek languages; and that some of them became useful, and others eminent, ministers of the gospel. In another part of his letter, entirely unconnected with the former, he states that he had survived " all the second sot of ministers who were raised in this country," and enu- merates them. Is there any law of construction by which, on collating these two passages, Dr. M'Millan can bo made to affirm that thoso ministers were " his first scholars?" that "his school began with thorn?" Where does he "expressly state that his school consisted of those young men?" And what becomos of the allegation that somo of these students were never his pupils at all ? It is in perfect harmony with Dr. M'Millan's language to suppose that one or two of the persons named were among his earlier pupils, though the school may have contained a number of students who nevor became ministers ; and that others on the list he enumerates may havo been his pupils at various times during the entire progress of his school. This is a much moro natural and probable view of the case than the one presented by the construction which has been placed upon these passages, if this be indeed the manuscript referred to, and does not conflict with positive testimon} 7 soon to bo considered. In the eighth place, the forco of Rev. Joseph Patterson's memorandum (which bears date Pittsburgh, May 15th, 1822,) depends upon the meaning he attached to the term "public education." It is probable that he was comparing the humble seminaries of the time of which he wrote, with the more imposing ones of the time at which he was writing. He could not have meant that there were not, or had not been, other private schools like that of Mr. Smith, which he was attending ; for it is admitted that there had been one at Mr. Dodd's; there may therefore have been another at Dr. M'Millan's. In the ninth placo, the extract from the letter of Rev. Robert Patterson, appears to indicato his impression, to the existence of which the writer of this can also testify, that the educational efforts of the various Presbyterian clergymen west of the mountains, had commenced as far back as 1780. Now, the school of Mr. Smith was not commenced until the latter part of 1785 ; 884 APPENDIX. and that of Mr. Dodd was commenced in 1782. This extract therefore does not preclude, but rather favors the supposition that Dr. M'Millan's school was prior to Mr. Dodd's. If the patience of the reader has not been already exhausted, he is invited to examine the evidence which may bo furnished in support of the correct- ness of the more commonly received, and, until recently, the undisputed opinion that Dr. M'Millan's was the first Latin school in the West. 1st. The first place in the order of testimony is evidently due to that of Dr. M'Millan himself. In his published letter to Dr. Carnahan, already more than once referred to, (Pitts. Chr. Herald, Dec. 14th, 1833,) he gives a sketch only too brief of his life and times, which bears every appearance of a design on the part of the venerable writer to relate events in their regular chronological order. Commencing with his earliest years, and he even apologizes afterwards- for not having given the date of his birth "in the proper place," ho traces up his history until the arrival of his family at Chartiers, of the circumstances attending which ho gives a rathor minuto description. The mention of his wife in this connection naturally leads him to anticipate his narrative so far as to give the dato of her death, in 1819. He then resumes his history in tho following manner: " When I had determined to come to this country, Dr. Smith* enjoined it upon me to look out for some pious young men, and educate them for the ministry ; for, said he, though some mon of piety and talents may go to a new country at first, yet if they aro not careful to raise up others, the coun- try will not be well supplied. Accordingly I collected a few who gave evi- dence of piety, and taught them tho Latin and Greek languages. Some of them became useful, and others eminent, ministers of the gospel. I had still a few with me when tho Academy was opened in Canonsburg, and finding that I could not teach and do justice to my congregation, I immediately gave it up and sent them there." The Doctor then goes on with every appearance of adhering to the regular succession of events to speak of the first remarkable outpouring of the Spirit in his congregation as occurring in December, 1781. Now, in the first place, the order in which. Dr. M'Millan introduces this portion of his history, furnishes a fair presumption that he is speaking of a period prior to December, 1781 ; in the socond place, the phraseology with which he commences the paragraph, furnishes an equally fair presumption that ho began his career as a teacher soon after "coming to this country;" in tho third place, with what propriety — not to say with what truth — could ho affirm that he had actod "according" to Dr. Smith's injunction, if he had totally neglected it for ten years after his settlement as a pastor of Chartiers, and that) too, with the materials for such a school in his im- mediate neighborhood, nay. as we are told, upon his own farm? — and in *Of Pequea. THE ORIGIN OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 385 the fourth place, why should he say that thore were "still a few with him," if his school had boen in existence for the comparatively brief period we are asked to believe ? If all this be only a presumption, yet it is so strong that it cannot well bo sot aside, unless upon the suggestion in " Old Red- stone," page 80, that it may bo a " lapsus memoriaa on the part of an octogenarian." Again, in a report presented to the Trustees of Jefferson College in 1817, by Dr. Ramsey and Dr. M'Millan, and which appears upon the minutes of the Board in tho handwriting of the latter, it is stated, in an account of Dr. M'Millan 's efforts to establish the academy at Canonsburg, that "A house was built and a Latin and Greek school, which ho had kept at his own house, for the purpose of supplying the church as far as was practicable, was transferred to this infant academy, the original fountain of science and literature in these western counties." Now from this passage, from Dr. M'Miilan's own pen, it is an inevitable inferonce that in his opinion the Canonsburg Academy, either of itself, or by virtue of the school transferred to it, was the original fountain, &c. It could not have been the former, for the Washington Academy had been in existenco before the one in Canons- burg, and long boforo the date of this report (1817) had eventuated in a college ; and it is difficult to soo how wo can escape the latter conclusion. But a still more explicit statement is mado in the catalogue of Jefferson College, published in July, 1833, four months before tho decease of Dr. M'Millan (November, 16th), he being at that time Vice-President of the college, and in tho habit, it is believed, of frequently visiting the institu- tion. It is there stated that " Jefferson College was chartered by the State, and regularly organized in 1802. Prior to that time there existed an academy, called Canonsburg Academy, which commenced soon after the first settlement of this country. This was the first literary institution wosfc of tho mountains. It originated in a small log-cabin, where the first Latin school was taught by the Hon. James Ross, of Pittsburgh, under the patronage and direction of Rev. Dr. M'Millan." It would seem highly improbable — indeed, almost impossible — that this statement could have been put forth without the knowledge of Dr. M'Millan, and without some attempt to derive from himself personally the facts in regard to the origin and character of his school ; or that, having been put forth, it should remain uncontradicted, if erroneous. It may, therefore, fairly be received as having the sanction of his authority. 2d. Next in order may be noticed the testimony of the children of Dr. M'Millan. On the 24th April, 1854, the writer, in company with Rev. William Ewing, the pastor of Chartiers, visited Mr. John M'Millan, (since deceased), who occupied the old homestead, and adjacent to whose dwelling stands the veritable "Log-Cabin" itself. This, however, was the second cabin. The first, which was burnt down, was at some distance from the dwelling; Mr. M'Millan indicated its site. He stated that he had often 33 386 APPENDIX. hoard his father say — ". That Mr. Ross taught Latin for him, and that this was the first Latin school in the eountry." The writer quotes from his memoranda, made at the time. Mr. M'Millan added that his father used to say — " He wished the world to forget, as soon as possible, that such a man as John M'Millan had ever lived." Unhappily, the world is too ready to forget its benefactors. On the 3d August, 1854, the writer received a call from Mr. M'Millan, accompanied by his sister, Mrs. Harper, the oldest child of Dr. M'Millan. Mrs. Harper, who was in her seventy-seventh year, but appeared to possess an excellent memory, confirmed her brother's statements; and her testimony in other particulars has been already introduced and need not be repeated. She states that Mr. Ross, as well as Mr. McGready, studied languages with her father, whilst they were engaged in teaching for him, the former ths Latin and the latter the English scholars. 3d. As the testimony of the next witness is perhaps the most direct of any, and by many will be deemed conclusive upon the subject, it will be proper to give it in fall, as taken down by the writer at the time specified. " Oanonsbnrg, Saturday, June 17th, 1854. "In company with Dr. John Weaver, I this day called upon Mrs. Sarah Park, an aged lady, residing with her son, Mr. M'Dowell Park, about five miles from Canonsburg. " Mrs. Park's statements to Dr. Weaver and myself were as follows, she being in our judgment in perfect possession of all her mental faculties, her memory apparently unimpaired. "She was born October 24th, 17&9, and is now in her eighty-fifth year, and in the enjoyment of excellent health. Her maiden name was M'Dowell. Her father, Judge M'Dowell, removed from Eastern to Western Pennsjd- vania, when she was about four years of age (1773). Her father resided upon the farm now owned by Mr. Samuel Pollock, about two miles from Chartiers' meeting-house, and not quite two miles from Dr. M'Millan's. She distinctly recollects when Dr. M'Millan removed his family to Chartiers. There being no house prepared for him, he with his wife and child (now Mrs. Harper) remained for six weeks at her father's house. (Mrs. Park mentioned one or two incidents connected with Dr. M'Millan's temporary residence at her father's house, which, though trivial, show how distinct and vivid her recollection of that period is. As Dr. M'Millan removed his family to Chartiers in 1778, she must have been at that time nine years of age.) " Mrs. Park does not remember the precise year when Dr. M Millan's Ichool commenced; but thinks she was about twelve years old, (1781,) and Is quite sure she was not more than thirteen, (1782,) when she knew several young men who were studying with Dr. M'Millan at his own house, before the first sohool-house wa>s built. These students were David Smith, John THE ORIGIN OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 387 Brice, James McGready, Francis Reno, and Thomas Reno. Mr. Smith boarded with Dr. M'Millan ; all the others boarded with her father, Judge M'Dowell. She remembers distinctly that these young men were studying Latin books, — is perfectly sure of it She recollects well their using books she could not read in. Sim never heard of an English school at Dr. M'Mil- lan's heuse, and is quite sure he never taught one. She knows certainly that the young men named above recited to Dr. M'Millan at his own house, before any school-house was built, and she thinks, before Mr. Ross came out to the West. The students named above were all gone before Mrs. Park's marriage, which took placo in 1780, when she was seventeen years of age. Upon her marriage she left tbe more immediate neighborhood of the school, and went to live upon the farm where she still resides. She does not there- fore remembor very distinctly matters connected with the school after that period, and about which she was not so well informed at the time. " The first school-house was built at some distance from Dr. M'Millan's dwelling. It was called the 'Latin School,' and known by that name throughout the country. This building was destroyed by fire — she does not recollect in what year, but thinks it was after her marriage ,• of this she would not be certain. Mr. Ross was the first teacher in this school-house. She recollects him distinctly, and the fact of his being thus engaged. She does cot know what his age at the time was — thinks it may have been twenty-five. Does not remember how long he remained with Dr. M'Millan ; thinks it may have been two years. She thinks Mr. Ross obtained his education east of the mountains, and has no knowledge of hie having studied with Dr. M'Millan. " Mrs. Park never heard of any Latin school at Rev. Joseph Smith's, at Buffalo ; though she says it might have been in existence without her knowledge. " She xemembers Mr. McGready perfectly well, and that he was in very limited circumstances when obtaining his education ; but she does not recol- lect his boarding at Dr. M'Millan's, and thinks, if he did, it must have been after her marriage, (1786). She does not remember his teaching an English schooL" As the abc vc testimony is directly to the point, the reader will pardon the following evidence of the case which was taken that no error might be com- mitted in recording it. " Canomburg, June 17th, 1854. " William Park, Esq. Dear Sir: — On the previous pages I have written out the information given to me this morning by your mother, from notes I took at the time. I have read it to Dr. Weaver, who believes it to be a cor- rect statement of the information we received. But as I may not have given your mother time to collect her thoughts in our brief visit, or as I may possi- bly, though unintentionally, have stated some things too positively, or per- 388 APPENDIX. haps omitted some matters that should have been mentioned; or as her thoughts have been turned to this subject by my questions, and she may have since recalled some facts which she did not think of at the time ; I will consider it a great favor if you will read to her, carefully and slowly, what I have written, and if you will be so kind as to note down any modifications, alterations, or additions she may desire to make, and let me have the result whenever you conveniently can. Yours truly, R. P." To this note a reply was received, June 30th, from a daughter of Mr. Park, returning the manuscript, stating that she had attended to the above request, and that her grandmother said her recollections were correctly repre- sented and she had nothing to add. It is impossible, however, to convey to the reader any adequate idea of the vivacity and distinctness with which this truly venerable lady recalled and related the events of her childhood and youth, and the extreme caution with which she spoke of mattors of which she was not perfectly sure. In comparing the testimony of Mrs. Park with that of Mrs. Irwin, the reader cannot fail to notico that we have hero the evidence of one who was twelve or thirteen years of age at the time of which she testifies, — who was in the immediate neighborhood of Dr. M'Millan, and intimate with his fam- ily, and who testifies respecting matters of which sho had a personal knowl- edge, and occurrences which passed daily before her eyes, as opposed to the recollections of one who was at this period a child of six or seven years of age, upwards of ten miles distant, who had no personal knowledge of Dr. M'Millan 's school, and who was certainly in error in regard to Mr. Dodd's. Also, that the question is hero answered — " Who were Dr. M'Millan's pupils at this early date ?" The names of at least five of them "have been found." And in the last place, it is important to observe, that as Messrs. Smith and Brice wore among theso students, in 1781, as Mrs. Park strongly believes, and certainly as early as 1782, — and as Dr. Lindley has stated that they were among his school-mates at Ton Mile from some time in 1782 until he left the school in 1784, it follows inevitably that they must have been pupils of Dr. M'Millan before they went to Mr. Dodd, even if we take the latest date assigned by Mrs. Park. David Smith was probably the youngest of these pupils, and about ten years of age ; yet he had commenced Latin two years before, (" Old Redstone," page 443.) Mrs. Park, it will be seen, is five years older than Rev. Dr. Lindley, and enjoyed much more favorable opportunities than he, for acquiring a knowledge of the facts to which she testifies. Of one of the students mentioned by Mrs. Park, the fullowing information has been derived from Col. William Lea, of Allegheny county, through the politeness of Mr. J. C. Wronshall : "Rev. Francis Reno (Episcopal minis- ter) was a student of Mr. M'Millan, of Canonsburg. He came to the old church at Woodvillo, known as Chartiers Chapel, about the year 1792, and THE ORIGIN OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 389 ■preached there until 1811. About that time he roinoved to Beaver, and died there about 1830." It may seem unnecessary to add anything to testimony so explicit as that of Mrs. Park, and from a source so unimpeachable ; but the reader who has taken any interest in the subject will bo glad to see that her statements are not without corroborating evidonce. " Ccmomburg-, Saturday, June 24th, 1854. " In company with John E. Black, Esq., the writer visited this day four aged persons in the vicinity of Canonsburg : Messrs. John Barr, (four miles from town,) Joseph Moss, (seven miles,) Daniel Darragh, Esq., (ten miles,) and James Thomas, (seven miles.) 4th. "John Barr was born in 1780, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania; came West in 1785; and when about eight years of age, (1788,) was acquainted with Francis and Thomas Dunlavy, who were then going to Dr. M'Millan to school. Does not know a.bout the Renos going to Dr. M'Mil- lan's school, but remembers the men. One of them became an Episcopal minister, and preached about seven miles from Pittsburgh, on the Washing- Ion turnpike ; the other a partner in a wholesale grocery in Pittsburgh. At least fifty years ago, Mr. Barr used to hear of Mr. Ross having taught Latin for Dr. M'Millan. 5th. "Joseph Moss was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1761, and is now in his ninety-third year. Came West in 1784, in his twenty- third year. Dr. M'Millan had been teaching some years before that time. Remembers Mr. Reno, who preached near Pittsburgh, and bolieves he studied under Dr. M'Millan. Mr. Reno was preaching soon after Mr. Moss came West Mr. Moss was a surveyor in early life : attended Mr. Clarke's church, now Mr. Marshall's. 6th. " Daniel Darragh was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1766, and is now in his eighty-eighth year. Came West in 1786. Doe3 not remember whether Dr. M'Millan's school was in Operation then, or not. Always heard of it as the oldest school west of the mountains ; never heard at that time of any other. Thinks Mr. Ross was then a lawyer in Washing- ton. Does not remember hearing of Mr. Ross teaching. Remembers a student, named Siemens, who recited to Dr. M'Millan at his own house. 7th. "James Thomas, born in New Jersey in 1771, came West in 1773. Remembers hearing of Mr. Ross studying with Dr. M'Millan. Cannot recollect any particulars about the school. " Mrs. Thomas remembers Rev. Samuel Pofter living on Dr. M'Millan^ place, and studying with him, about 1788. His son was her school-mate at that time. She remembers well that the school-house used to be called the ' Latin School.' 8th. "May 18th, 1854. Called this afternoon on Isaac White, Betsey White, and Mrs. Jane Berry, resident about a mile from Canonsburg. They 33* 390 APPENDIX. are the children of George White, who died March 2, 184?, in his ninety- second year. He was one of the oldest settlers, having, with his father, John White, arrived at Chartiers April 29th, 1772. George White, being desirous to qualify himself for becoming an English teacher, repaired to Dr. M'Millan's school and attended it for some time; then re-crossed the mountains, and either taught or attended school for some time in Adams county, Pennsylvania ; returned home, and after the lapse of some time again visited Adams county on the occasion of his marriage, which took place in 17S6, when he was about thirty years of age. " His children cannot fix the date of his attending school, but think it must have been some years before his marriage. They distinctly recollect having often heard him say that Latin was taught there then, though he did not study it; that Mr. Ross was there then, and was one of the Latin students ; that he often spoke of the Latin students as considering them- selves of a little more consequence than the other students, and as being so regarded by the others ; and they have often heard him say that when the school-house was burnt, all the Latin books which had been left in it over night were consumed, and there were no more this side the mountains, which occasioned great inconvenience." The recollection of a nephew of George White, Mr. James White, of Cecil township, who was present, coincided with that of his cousins as given abovo. 9th. Extract from a lotter from Rev. Dr. Cephas Dodd, May 17th, 1854:— " When my father taught in Washington in 1789, Abraham Scott was tbero as a pupil. He was reading some of the higher classics, and had previously been at Dr. M'Millan's school. I used to hear him speak of Jemmy Ross (as he called him) as having been his teacher there. James Ross was at that time a practicing attorney in Washington, and had probably been so as early as 1787, as he was at that time one of the Trustees named in the charter of the Washington Acadomy." 10th. Extract from a letter from Hon. H. M. Brackenridge, a student at Jefferson College in 1805 : — " Tarentum, Pennsylvania., June 12th, 1854. I have always understood that the first Latin school ever established in the Western part of Pennsylvania, was that set on foot by the Rev. John M'Millan at Canonsburg, or near that place, in a log-cabin by the road side. I have heard my father say that once, on hi3 way from Pittsburgh to Washington court, he was induced, according to a practice almost invariable with him, to stop at the school in the log-cabin referred to, and there he found James Ross teaching a Latin class; and according to his custom, ho examined the scholars, and conversed with the teacher, in whom he im- mediately took a great interest. He was well acquainted with the family and connections in the Barrons of York, where my father's father had also settled, and lived as friend and neighbor to the Ross family. This must THE ORIGIN OF JEFFERSON COtLEGtE. o9l hare been prior to tho year 17S5, for this reason : my father established him self as a lawyer in Pittsburgh in 1781, and Mr. Ross must have been at least seven years at the bar before 1794, when he was a Senator of the United States. My father, on inquiring into his future prospects, advised him to study law, and gave him letters to his friends in Philadelphia, especially Mr. Coxe, with whom Mr. Ross completed his studies. From this we may form an idea of the time which must have elapsed before he came to the bar, and of the time necessary to acquire such distinction as to be elected to (he Senate before the year 1794. It would seem to me that this would surely cany tho period at which my father saw him teaching in the log-cabin, beyond the year 17S5. " Mr. Ross was of course a well-grounded Latin scholar, bnt I am not so Well informed as to his proficiency in classical studies. It must have been good, judging from the high literary taste and polish of his style. James Ross, (no relative,) the celebrated teacher, and author of the grammar, was probably his teacher, as he had a Latin school at the place where the family of Mr. Ross resided in York county. This is the first time I ever heard the fact of Mr. M'Millan's being the first to establish a Latin school in the West, called in question." 11th. A reminiscence of Joseph Patterson, Esq., of Pittsburgh, is also in point. Mr. Patterson was intimately acquainted with Mr. Ross, and re- members to have heard him relate, that whilst living with Dr. M'Millan, he joined a party which was made up to go to tho relief of the settlers on the Ohio, upon the occasion of an incursion of the Indians ; and that upon the way they met one of the brothers Poe (mentioned in "'Old Redstone," page 65) returning from his famous contest with the Indians on the banks of the Ohio, — tho corpse of an Indian being slung over his horse. Now a refor- rence to any border history of the period will show that this celebrated encounter took place about tho middle of July, 17S2.* 12th. And finally the prevalence of the opinion, which appears to have been universal, and certainly has been until very recently undisputed, that Dr. M'Millan's was the first classical school in the West, is in itself, under the circumstances, strong evidence of its own correctness. Such a beliol' was general, long before the late Rev. Dr. M. Brown came to Canousburg * In a book entitled ^Yestern Adventure, will be found an account of the severe action of the Poes with the Indians, and will fix the date of that action no doubt correctly. I had an account of it from Andrew Poe himself, and also from the Rev. Thomas Marquis, who was in the engagement. In a conversation with the Hon. James Rosa on the subject of that contest, he told me that he with a party of volunteers, met the Poes and their party on their return at Thomas White's, on Kaccoon, bringing with them young Cherry, who was killed in the engagement, carrying him on a horse. Mr. Marquis told me he was near to him when he fell among a thicket of spice wood bushee, and soon died. Joseph Patterson. 31)2 APPENDIX. in 1822, and he does not seem in any wise to be justly held responsible for its existence. The writer, and those who accompanied him, can bear wit- ness to the unfeigned surprise with which the oldest inhabitants of the country around Dr. M'Millan's residence, learned that the correctness of the opinion with which they had grown up from childhood was now called in question, — an opinion which, it had never occurred to them, could be within the reach of skepticism. That such a belief should have been enter- tained, apparently from the very first, by those who must necessarily have been cognizant of the facts, is altogether inexplicable on any other hypo- thesis than that the belief was warranted by the facts. It is much to be regretted that the doubts which have been recently expressed had not been propounded sooner, before so many, who could have borne the amplest testimony to the facts of the case, had disappeared forever from the scene of those early trials, efforts, and difficulties, of which they loved to speak. That such an opinion as that spoken of above was general, scarcely requires additional confirmation ; but the following extract from a letter from Dr. Samuel Colver, of Jefferson, Greene county, Pennsylvania, May 28th, 1854, not only gives evidence of the state of opinion nearly forty years ago, but contains a tribute to the memory of Dr. M'Millan, so just and unstudied, and so honorable to the heart that conveys it, that the reader will readily pardon its insertion. "My information on the subject was obtained as far back as the session of 1819-20, at which time and subsequently I hoard much relative to tho early biography of Dr. M'Millan. During my first session at Jefferson College, I boarded at the house of the widow Emery, opposite the college. Mrs. Emery's house was much .frequented by many of the old citizens of the town and country, who seemed to take particular pleasure in relating the remarkable incidents pertaining to the early and subsequent life of Dr. M'Millan. I afterwards boarded at the houses of William Thompson and Joseph M'Nairy. They were members of tho Secedor Church, and were frequently visited by Dr. Ramsey, who was at that time pastor of that church. In all these places the early history and settlement of Dr. M'Mil- lan \\as discussed and related so frequently and with such coincidence, as to make an indelible impression on my memory, so much so that they appear to me now as almost the narratives of but yesterday. "At that timo Dr. M'Millan was held in exalted veneration, not only by tho citizens generally, but also by the students of the college, who not only looked upon him as the founder of that Institution, but as an oracle of wis- dom and piety, from whom they might derivo lessons of instruction. Dr. M'Millan must have boen at that time near seventy years of ape. yet )!•<- powers of his mind and body seemed in their Cull vigor, and the spirit of love and benevolence shono through all his actions. He regularly visited the college twice a week, excepting in bad weather, and attentivel 1 lieti at .1 THE ORIGIN OP JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 398 to tbo recitations of the classes in thoir turn. I remember well, if a student should make a mistake, that ho was always the first to discover it, and would correct it by souio humorous remark, which not only corrected the error but palliated it. He preached regularly at his place, and frequently at tho col- lege. Bis sermons wore eloquent and powerful. At that time Dr. M'Millan iviij considered tho most useful and benevolent man of his day; and I do not think that Gen. Washington was ever more beloved by the American people, than was Dr. M'Millan by those portions of Washington county, and elsewhere, where his usefulness as a proachor, and his benevolence in pre- paring young men for the ministry, were so extensively experienced. u I now come to give you what information I have as regards that period of Dr. M'Millan 's life in which he commenced his Latin school. This knowl- edge has been derivod from the citizens of Canonsburg and its vicinity, many of whom were living at that time, who had been cotemporaneous with Dr. M'Millan in his early settlement. The result of this information is about this : that Dr. M'Millan first visited the western country in 1775, and preached to the border settlements of Westmoreland and Washington counties, during the summer and autumn of that year ; and that he returned to the East, and removed with his family to the vicinity of Canonsburg, and immediately commenced a Latin school with tho view of preparing young men for the ministry : that the celebrated James Ross was among his first students, and that he afterwards became a teacher of classics under Dr. M'Millan. Mrs. Harper remembers Ross as a teacher under her father as far back as her fifth year, which was about the year 1782 : and of course Dr. M'Millan 's Latin school must have commenced several years previous." The writer of this can bear testimony to tho existence of the same univer- sal impression when he was a student in Jefferson College, some twenty years after the period referred to in Dr. Colver's letter; and when, in com- pany with several of his class-mates, in the spirit of pilgrims to some con- ecrated shrine, he visited the humble "Log-Cabin" so often referred to, and heard from Mr. John M'Millan the same narrative which was repeated to him fifteen years afterwards, as recorded above, it never occurred to him that the attempt would or could be made to divest that hallowed spot of tho hon- ors it had worn so long. But a still higher authority is that of the author of " Old Redstone," who wa? graduated at Jefferson College in 1815, and who states in a letter dated November 27th, 1854 : — " I had always entertained the prevailing opinion about the history of the ' Log-Cabin' school, until, unexpectedly, without my seeking it, I got the statomont which Mrs. Irwin, of Ohio, gave me." The reader, who has had the patienco to accompany us thus far, is in pos- session of all the evidence the writer has been able to collect upon the sub- ject of our investigations. The field of his inquiries was not, however, by any means exhausted, when his progress was suddenly arrested, and circum- stances unnecessary to be detailed compelled him to abandon his researches. 30i APPENDIX. After the lapse of more than two years, a period of comparative leisure has at last enabled him to arrange his notes, and the reader must decide how far they render any assistance towards a settlement of the interesting question — Where was the first Literary Institution West of the Mountains ? A brief review of all that has been advanced in regard to Dr. M'Millan's school, will show that the only direct testimony in opposition to the com- monly received opinion of its priority to all others, is that of Mrs. Irwin, and possibly that of Rev. Dr. Lindley. The evidence of the former is utterly irreconcilable with admitted facts ; while the statements of the latter may be made to harmonize with the current belief. The opinion that Mr. Ross taught an English, and not a Latin school, is met by the repeated declaration of Dr. M'Millan, in the hearing of his children, to the contrary ; by a similar declaration, as the writer understands it, on the part of one of Mr. Ross' old pupils, Abraham Scott; and by the evidence that Mr. Ross was discov- ered by Judge Brackenridge actually hearing a Latin class. The other arguments which have been adduced do not, upon examination, appear to carry with them even a presumption that the prevalent opinion is incorrect On the other hand, wo have the personal recollection of an unexceptionable witness, Mrs. Park, to the effect that a Latin school was in existence at Dr. M'Millan's, as she believes, in 1781, and as she is positively certain, in 1782 ; the recollection of a daughter of Dr. M'Millan's, carrying the school back as far as 1782 ; an incident stated by Joseph Patterson, Esq., in regard to the early life of James Ross, which fixes his residence with Dr. M'Millan at least as far back as July, 17S2 ; the circumstances related by Hon. II. M. Brackenridge, amounting to a fair presumption that Mr. Ross' residence with Dr. M'Millan was at a very early date ; the statement of Mr. Moss that the school had been in existence for some years before 1784 ; the statement of the children of George White that in their opinion, for which they give rea- sons, their father must have attended Dr. M'Millan's school some years beforo 17S6 ; the fact that some of the pupils of Mr. Dodd, who were with him from 1782 till at least 1784, had yet been with Dr. M'Millan also in 1782, which would appear to show conclusively that they must have been students at Chartiers before they repaired to Ten Mile ; tho declarations of Dr. M'Millan to his children, that his school was the first Latin school in the country ; his own language, as quoted above, which it is difficult to reconcile with truth on any other hypothesis than that of the early commencement and the pri- ority of his institution ; and finally the universality of such an opinion, amongst those who had the best opportunities for becoming acquainted with the facts, and for the existenco and prevalence of which belief no explana- tion whatever has been offered, or can well be imagined, save that it coincides with the truth. Tho reader will judge for himself upon which sido tho evi- dence preponderates. But further, it is alleged, (" Old Redstone," page 102,) that " The Academy did not originate in the Latin school at tho ' Log-Cabin,' but was Degun inde- THE ORIGIN OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 895 pendently of it, and superseded it, and caused its suspension." It is not enough, thoreforo, to maintain the honor of the parent stock : the legitimacy of the offspring must also bo defended. Now the facts of the case, as related by Dr. M'Millan in his letter and report, already quoted, and by Rev. R. Patterson, in his lotter to Dr. Brown, aro as follow : ' That in July, 1791, upon a Monday after a sacramental season in Chartiera congregation, a consultation, at which Rev. Messrs. M'Millan and Smith, with other frionds of learning, were present, was held, and a resolution adopted, to establish a Literary Institution in tho West. On the question of its location, the "Log-Cabin" was proposed by Dr. M'Millan, Cancnsburg by Col. Canon. It may here be remarked that if the former site had been selocted, there conld be no dispute as to the fact that the Academy was the successor of the Latin school. Canonsburg, however, was chosen, Dr. M'Millan concurring, and by appointment the exercises of the Academy were commenced the next morning in a field near the village, Dr. M'Millan him- self taking the most prominent part in them. Mr. David Johnston was invited to attend and take charge of the Academy. Thus far the letter of Rev. R. Patterson, who made the first recitation. Must not these facts have escaped tho author of "Old Redstone," when he observes, page 80, that " Dr. M'Millan had no direct agency, and took no active part in getting up the Canonsburg Academy 1" Further, Dr. M'Millan, in his letter, states : — " I had still a few with me when the academy was opened at Canonsburg, and finding that I could not teach and do justice to my congregation, I immediately gave it up and sent them there." — " Old Redstone," page 193. Again, in his report to the Trustees, already quoted, Dr. M'Millan states that — "A Latin. and Greek school which he had kept at his own house, for the purpose of supplying the church as far as was practicable, was trans- ferred to this infant academy, the original fountain, &c, &c." Tho only evidence to the contrary is the statement of William Darby, Esq., ("Old Redstone," page 193), that Dr. M'Millan's school was still in operation through 1789 and part of 1790, after the academy was established in Canonsburg. But in the first place, tho academy was not established in Canonsburg until July, 1791; in the next place, if Mr. Darby meant the latter year, his evidence is directly contrary to that of Dr. M'Millan, who may be supposed to be better acquainted with the facts ; and in the last place, it is contrary to a fair presumption from the language in which Rev. Dr. Lindley, as quoted above, describes the commencement of the Canons- burg Academy. If the active co-operation of Dr. M'Millan in building up the academy, — if the leading part he took in the ver}- inception of the enterprise, as well as during all its progress, in selecting its teachers, in raising funds for it, in frequently visiting it, and in managing its concerns,— if all this, in con- 396 APPENDIX. noction with the immediate transfer of his pupils to the academy, a fact which he has certified under his own hand, — does not render that academy tho lineal descendant of the Latin school,- — it is difficult to imagine what would have constituted a legitimate succession. If, upon tho other hand, it be really incorrect to supposo that there was such an immediate succession, it is vory clear that Dr. M'Millan himself labored under this mistaken impression ,• that the same misapprehension haa always prevailed amongst those who have had the best opportunities for becoming familiar with the facts ; and lastly, that the author of " Old Redstone" has himself fallen into the same error, when ho states (page 77) that Mr. Smith's school, by being transferred to Dr. M'Millan's, was " the real nucleus, the larva, out of which grew oventually, first, tho Canonsburg Academy, and then Jefferson College." But with what propriety can it bo said, (" Old Redstone," page 190), that au institution was "originated" by tho Synod of Virginia, "located" in Canonsburg by tho Presbytery of Redstone, and " merged into tho academy of that place in 1791-'2," when this ecclesiastical figment never had any existence whatever, apart from that of the academy itself, which had boon in successful operation for two years before the Presbytery finally recognized it as an institution under their care ? It has never been made to appear that tho Synod of Virginia had any agency whatever in "originating" the academy at Canonsburg, that institution having been in existence some three months before the date of the Synod's resolution on the subject of western education. Why should wo soek, at this late day, and without the slightest evidence, to justify such a course, to crown the Synod with the honors which for more than half a century have encircled the brow of M'Millan ? It is due to the memory of the noble-minded and self-sacrificing fathers of our western churches, to say that no spirit of jealousy could ever have found a lodgment in their bosoms. Disinterested zeal for the service of their Divine Master was all that impelled them to thread the mazes of these western forests, to follow close upon the obscure pathway of tho pioneer, and almost simultaneously with tho erection of his rude hut, to rear beside it the school-house and the church. It reflects tho highest honor on theso illustri- ous men, that scarce thirty years were suffered to elapso after the first daring adventurer had penetrated a hitherto pathless wilderness, — thirty years, not of prosperity and peace, but of painful vigilance and unceasing struggle, of unexampled hardships and heroic endurance, — until tho poetry and elo- quenco of Greece and Rome, the truths of modern science, and of sacred learning, had found throe humble halls, three devoted instructors, and a score of assiduous pupils, — though the war-wboop of tho retreating savage still echoed wii hin the surrounding valleys, and his council-fires still blazed upon the hills. History presents few parallels of achievements so worthy of remembrance, yet so speedily forgotten. Amidst any other people than the ungrateful descendants of such heroic sires, the consecrated spot where THE ORIGIN OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 397 learning reared her first abode had long sinco been distinguished by some fitting monument, inscribed with a namo posterity should "not willingly let die." It is due also to those whoso evidonce has been collated on the preceding pages, to say that the discrepancies which may be found to exist in their reminiscences, some of which have been passed by unnoticed, whilst of others it has been no grateful task to speak, should not affect their character for truthfulness. It is understood that they testify to the best of their remembrance ; nor is it surprising that thoro should be some variations in the recollections of occurrences of three scoro yoars ago. Especially is it due to the respected author of " Old Redstone," to bear testimony to the fidelity with which he has discharged the task he has under- taken, and to the value of his labors in rescuing so much of the history of Western Presby terianism from that oblivion to which it was so rapidly hasten- ing. With the devotion of a Tully, he has striven to remove the thistles that wero so quickly concealing the monuments of the wisdom of the past : with the piety of an Old Mortality, he has endeavored to deepen the inscrip- tions sacred to the memory of the religion and the patriotism of our fathers. No ono would shrink sooner than he, from denying praise where praise was justly due; and his hand would be the first to replace a chaplet he had unwittingly removed. R. P. Oakland College, Miss., January 1st, 1857. To roview this able and ingenious paper, in all its details, would be un- reasonably taxing the patience of readers. We feel no special zeal about tho issue of this question of priority in respect to the early Latin schools in Western Pennsylvania. It may be thought by some that this question was unnoces?arily and foolishly raised in the first instance, and that the almost universally current traditions should have been left undisturbed: — and that it was an invidious and dishonorable employment to attempt to displaco a garland from tho brow of Dr. M'Millan. Now we claim a veneration for the exalted character of that never-to-be-forgotten father of our Western Zion, not inferior to that cherished by the writer of this paper. We greatly respect the memory of Dr. M'Millan. But to receivo and adopt implicitly every tradition that may gather round a good man's history, is rather an equivocal way of evincing true respect. All who are familiar with history, are aware that ingenious fictions and legends have often been employed to augment the renown of distinguished mon, and to throw a halo of glory around their heads. Witness the ingenious tale about Dr. M'Millan in " Day's Historical Collection of Pennsylvania," page 668, whore it is stated that "he settled in Washington county in 1773," — and "with the commencement of his labors, began his school at Canonsburg," and that " the number of his 84 398 APPENDIX. students having increased, a stone building was erected in 1790 ;" — not one sentence or clause of which is correct. Witness, again, the story told of Dr. Witherspoon : that when the Convention met to form the Constitution of the United States, the Doctor put a Confession of Faith in his pocket ; and having our Presbyterian Constitution constantly ready for reference, he •led in getting our admirable frame of Government modeled, in its main features, after our Presbyterian form of Government Whereas, Dr. Witherspoon, though a member of the Continental Congress that adopted and signed tho Declaration of Independence, where his name is also found, and though a member of the Convention that drew up the articles of con- ation in 177s, was not a member al all of the Convention that in 17S6 formed the Constitution ! Witness, again, the beautiful story about President Davies, the great American preacher — a story once universally told and believed among Presbyterians in Virginia — how, that when on a visit to England, and invited to preach before the court of George II., his overpowering eloquence so deeply moved the king that he said, aloud to one of- his nobles, "did ever man speak like this man?" and how Mr. Davies paused, and then said, slowly and solemnly: "when the lion roars, the beast* of the forest tremble; when tho king of heaven speaks, let the kings of the earth keep silence !" The whole story has been, long since, proved to bo a mere fabrication. Witness the story of Lord Baltimore having first introduced tho principles of religious liberty into his government of the Maryland colony — a legend which the Hon. J. P. Kenned}', late Secretary of the Navy, scattered to the winds, by showing, conclusively, that the principles of religious liberty were in the charter, granted by a British Protestant king to Lord Baltimore, and not in the Colonial Constitution of Maryland, further than the charter required. And, to cite a case of earlier history, witness the pleasant legend about Dionysius, the Areopagite; how he had stood among a group of philosophers, in Egypt, at the time of tho supernatural darkness, occurring during our Saviour's crucifixion, and exclaimed, " Either the frame of naturo is about to dissolve, or tho God of nature is suffering !'' — a story which the eloquent Saurin, having examined its claims, has told us, dies "pierced by a thousand spears." Indeed, nothing is more common than fictitious and unfounded exaggerations gather- ing round the character and doings of great and good men. And he who inidrrtakes to question or rofute such things, ought not to bo branded as inimical or unfriendly, or lacking in a just regard to their reputation. Yet blind idolators of such men are found not only to possess an easy faith, ready to receive implicitly every exaggerated tale, but to denounce, with bitterness, all who do not possess the same ample powers of deglutition. Very far from such a character, however, is Prof. Patterson. Though he has succeeded, apparently, in completely satisfying himself, as to thi rectness of the old current traditions about the "Log-Cabin." and the origin of Jefferson College, he treats with kindness and respect those who have THE ORIGIN OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 399 heretofore differed from him in their views. His paper, in our judgment, evinces eminent talents and earnest zeal; and what is better still, a kind, and conciliatory spirit. After a careful consideration of all that he has adduced in support of the several conclusions at which he has arrived, we cannot yet acknowledge ourselves convinced, or, in some particulars, even shaken. We will attempt a very brief statement of the matter, as it still appears to us. 1st. Was Jefferson College indebted for its origin to the " Log-Cabin" school at Chartiers ? We answer that the true facts of the case now brought to light, as given in our introductory chapter of this work, from the testimony of Dr. C. Dodd, and Dr. M'Millan himself, show that Dr. M'Millan and his compeers, Messrs. Smith and Henderson, together with Judges M'Dowell, Allison, and others, having failed to resuscitate the Washington Academy, after the disaster of the fire, united in setting on foot a similar institution in the village of Canonsburg, encouraged especially by the effective co-opera- tion of Col. Canon ; and that the " Log-Cabin" school had nothing to do in the matter — though tho contiguity of the new Academy rendered it both con- venient and desirable to Dr. M'Millan to suspend the further continuance of his school. The discontinuance of the " Log-Cabin" school was a mere inci- dental circumstance, arising from tho fact that a good Academy, in his imme- diate neighborhood, and partly through his agency, was now under way. If Dr. M'Millan and his brethren could have succeeded with the Academy at Washington, does any one believe that his school, in that event, would have had an outgrowth into another Academy, either at Canonsburg or Chartiers ? It is probable, indeed, that had he succeeded in his wishes at Washington, he would not so soon have relinquished the school at Chartiers. For the sake of poor and pious young men boarding with him, without charge, or in the neighborhood, he would have continuod the school a while longer. But now the great enterprise which had been commenced, and failed, at Washington, succeeded by their all uniting upon Canonsburg: its immediate vicinity to Dr. M'Millan brought him relief from what he felt to be a heavy charge upon his time and his resources, and an interference with his pastoral labors ; and whether he gave up the school the very next day, or a week, or a month after; or even if ho had closed it a few weeks before, in the certain anticipation of planting the original academical enterprise at Canonsburg, does not make the smallest difference — does not eifect the question as to the succession ; unless it be such a succession as tho famous case of the Church Steeple and the Goodwin Sandbar ! If any thing were wanting to confirm the view we have now given, it is found in tho language of tho second memo- rial which the Trustees sent to tho Legislature, in which they give their account of the origin of the Academy, but make not the remotest allusion to the " Log-Cabin" school. Let the reader turn to this paper on page 46 of this work and see their statement. Now, this view of the whole case does nof derogate one iota from tho true honor of Dr. M'Millan. In fact, ever 400 APPENDIX. since we have more fully understood what he did for Washington Academy, and what efforts ho made to arouse the people there to a noble and united movement for their Academy, and what he, with others, then proceeded to do at Canonsburg, we cannot but wonder that any concern should be felt about holding on to the story of the old "Log-Cabin" school growing into an Academy. But then it is asked, what are we to do with the apparent endorsement on the part of the Doctor, of the statement put forth by the Trustees of Jefferson College, in July, 1833 ? Why, how do wo know that he endorsed it ? He may not have seen it at all ;* or he may have expressed his dissent ; or he may havo thought it not worth while to trouble himself about it. We know just nothing at all about the matter. And shall advan- tage be taken of our ignorance how that matter really was ? and then, for- sooth, his endorsement be claimed? "Nay, verily." But, then, what shall we make of the Doctor's expression in 1817? "A Latin and Greek school which he had kept at his own house, was transferred to this infant Academy, the original fountain of science and literature in these western States." It is urged that the last clause refers to the Latin school, and proves its priority to all other schools. But the natural construction of the passage connects the concluding expression with the " infant Academy." We havo no doubt that it was this of which the expression was used. Is it necessary to go fur- ther than the Canonsburg Academy ? Would the previous short life of ths school at Washington, for some fifteen or sixteen months, make such an expression about Canonsburg Academy, near thirty years after that fountain began to flow, and at length to enlarge into Jefferson College, objectionable or untrue ? And was not the priority of the Canonsburg Academy to Jeffer- son College the natural occasion of the expression, "original fountain?" We can see no reason in the world why any body now would make the " Log-Cabin" school the sire, or the grand-sire of Jefferson College. We know the author of " Old Redstone" can be quoted as favoring this view. But then the author did not know all the facts in the case — facts which place, really, greater honor on Dr. M'Millan, than the old theory. 2d. The next point of inquiry which we will briefly consider is as to the character of Mr. Smith's school, at Buffalo. For we are put to the proof of its very existence as a Latin and scientific school. It is useless to inquire about its precedence, if it is ruled out of court altogether. It is true, the new theory is that it was a theological school ; and as in that character it takes the precedence of grammar schools, academies, and even colleges, it *The records show that Dr. M'Millan was not present at that meeting of the Board. Even the Board itself probably entrusted the whole matter of drawing up and pub- lishing the statement to their secretary, or a committee, and did not see it themselves till it was published. Further, the old records had been for some time mislaid, and were supposed to be lost. And those who proposed that paper were not aware that their own records contained a very different account of the birth of the Academy, THE ORIGIN OV JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 401 might be supposed that this would bo sufficiently satisfactory. But we .ire compelled to decline that honor — at least as to its distinctive character — for the Buffalo school. Now to maintain that this school was altogether different from the Ten Milo or the Chartiors school, and, in fact, was no such school at all ; and yet further maintain that it succeeded both these schools, is cer- tainly a work of supererogation, for who does not know that theologtcal schools presuppose other and previous literary institutions ? But this Lew method of considering the caso, puts one in much the same condition with the plaintiff who sought to recover damages from a man for breaking his borrowed kottle, and who was astonished to find the defendant's couiisei making three points in his defence : 1st., that the kettle was cracked when borrowed ; 2d., was sound when returned, and 3d., was never borrowed at all ! But seriously, was Mr. Smith's school like the others, or was it sin, ply a Divinity Hall ? (1.) The Rev. Joseph Patterson's language in his memorandum (" Old Redstone," p. 81, quoted by Prof. Patterson,) clearly implies that it was, in part, at least, literary and scientific. Or why should he speak of there being '•'no places of public education?" Does he not obviously mean academies, colleges, court. (&.) The Rev. William Wylie, D. D., now in his eighty -fourth year, was born and brought up in Buffalo, not far from Mr. Smith's ; and must have been in his twelfth or thirteenth year, in tho fall of 1785. Ho says, in a letter dated March 13th, 1S57 : ''That school was certainly occupied in fin i lirfhing young men with a classical education, more than in giving eccle- siastical instruction. I believe the testimony you have given tho public froia Mrs. Irwin is fully entitled to credit, interwoven as it is with many of tho interesting scenes of her youth, and kept almost continually in view by the recollection of the many things with which theso events were associated." The second point, then, we think, is clearly and finally sottled. But now as to the third point. "i.\ Where was the first school for training young men in a literary and scientific course, and especially for tho gospel ministry ? The author of the paper before us has evidently taken considerable pains to collect a mass of testimony in favor of tho "Log-Cabin" school. And he has certainly evincfed much ability in arranging it, and bringing it out in its full strength. Perhaps lie will bo thought right in tho conclusion which he has reached. If so, we are not in the least troubled on that account. Truth, not victory, should bo our aim. "Fiat justitia, ruat coelum." But "audi alteram partem ;" and let us just observe that thcro are some facts which seem to us stubborn, and not easily explained in harmony with tho ontire extent of Prof. Patterson's conclusions. We will briefly state them. (1.) It is a fact that tho Rov. Robert Patterson made the following state- ment, in his goneral narrative of his reminiscences, about the early educa- tional enterprises — which he drew up at the request of Dr. M. Brown: "Between 1780 and 1790, and chiefly in the latter part of these ten years, some of the few Presbyterian clergymen living west of the mountains in Pennsylvania, wore in the habit of giving instruction in the Languages and Sciences to young men whose object in their studies was the gospel ministry. The Rev. Messrs. Joseph Smith and John M'Millan were distinguished in their devotion to this cause. They both sottled in congregations in Washing- ton county, Pennsylvania. Mr. Smith had a small building erected in a corner of the garden, called ' the students' room,' too small to be dignified with the name of a hall. And Mr. M'Millan had a small log-cabin built, near his log dwelling house, known to this day by the appellation of tho 'Log-Cabin.' In these primitive seminaries, &c." Here is certainly a statement from an important witness — by far the most competent, in (lie judgment of Dr. Carnahan, on the subject. For he expressly tells Prof. Patterson that his father is, perhaps, "the best living witness in regard to the origin of Latin schools west of the mountains ;" and he gives bil THE ORIGIN OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. 403 reasons for so regarding him. Now, in tho above statement, carefully mado at his leisure, in his study, without the presence of any one putting ques- tions to him, or by any possibility guiding him unconsciously in any particular direction — this "best living witness" says "between 17S0 and 1790, and chiefly in the latter part of these ton years, (that is between 17S5 and 1790.) some few Presbyterian clergymen, &c." Would not any one who is not strongly committed to a foregone conclusion, infer that according to the best of Mr. Patterson's recollections these Latin schools were opened during and after 1785? And when he goes on tvrice to speak first of Mr. Smith and his school — that his impression was that he was at least as early is any other in this movement ? that his school did not follow Dr. M'Mil- lan's? that it was, at any rate, quite as early? He shows, also, that he had some minute and particular reminiscences about both schools. If after all, Dr. M'Millan's school, as a Latin school, was in full operation five years before this time, could he have been ignorant of that fact, whon ho evidently knows so much about it, in other respects? And if he was not ignorant of the earlier origin of the Log-Cabin school, how can we possibly explain the whole passage ? If ho had designed to ignore the oarlier origin of Dr. M'Millan's school, and to lead ue completely into a chronological error, could he have used any different or stronger language ? In fine, wo think this whole statement of the Rev. Robert Patterson presents a serious objection to the conclusions which the Professor has adopted. We shall not. comment upon the manner in which the Professor disposes of this testimony of his father. We think that here, at least, he signally fails in his attempt to get out of this difficult}', by making the testimony, in effect, tho very reverse of what it naturally means. (2.) The Rev. Joseph Patterson's memorandum seems to us fairly to imply not only that there were no colleges, academies, &c., but that there were no similar schools or seminaries to that to which he repaired. If there was an older and larger institution, then, at Dr. M'Millan's, with young men preparing for the ministry, a log-cabin, Latin school, &c, he would not, in our judgment, have expressed himself just as he did. " There being no places of public education in this country, I, with a few others, studied with the Rev. Joseph Smith." (3.) The statement given by Mrs. L~win presents a strong objection to Prof. Patterson's conclusions ; and so far from being weakened by his vig- orous attack, has rather gathered strength from the critical ordeal through which it has passed. We would here state that we adopted a precisely simi- lar course to that described in Prof. Patterson's paper, in the case of Mrs. Park. We took down Mrs. Lrwin's statement immediately after the inter- view. Several months afterwards we enclosed it to tho Rev. Mr. Smith, of Marysville, requesting him to read it to her, and ascertain whether it was cor- rect. A copy of this letter and his answer are before us, but we think it unnecessary to insert thorn. Tho result was, that we obtained perfect assu- 404 APPENDIX. ranee that we had her precise statement. It was to this effect: "That she was between twelve and fifteen years of age, living near Mr. Smith's, one of his spiritual children, took a great interest then in what Mr. Smith did, in this matter, and all her life after, familiarly remembered the following facts, viz: that in 1785, Mr. Smith, of Buffalo and Cross Creek congrega- tions, opened a school for assisting and training young men for the gospel ministry ; that Mr. McGready, Mr. Brice, Mr. Porter, and Mr. Patterson, began their course with him, Mr. James Hughs soon after joining them ; that Mr. McGready came from Dr. M'Millan's, with whom he had been living, not as a student, but as a laborer on his farm; that five congregations, through the ladies, united in furnishing these students (with the exception of Mr. McGready) with clothing, viz : Buffalo, Cross Creek, Chartiers, Bethel and Ten Mile ; that they made up summer and winter clothing for several of these young men, (coloring linen for summer wear in a dyo mado of new mown hay;) that this was the first movement made for preparing young men for the ministry ; that there was no such school at this time at Chartiers, nor until after the one at Buffalo was discontinued ; that Mr. M'Millan and the Chartiers ladies took then - share in this effort to sustain the school at Buffalo, Mr-. McGready coming from Dr. M'Millan's to the school." Now, this entire statement, which is only partially given in the paper under review, contains some remarkable points. In the first place, its singular, yet wholly unde- signed coincidence with the statements of the Rev. Messrs. Joseph Patterson and Robert Patterson, are especially worthy of notice. The three statements taken together form a threefold cord, not easily broken. This is an element of its strength not heretofore noticed. In the second place, her minute and cir- cumstantial account of the concerted measures taken in all the congregations for sustaining the school, could not possibly have been a mere fiction of her fancy. It must have been so. And it proves not only how clear was her memory in the case, but that it is exceedingly unlikely that at the same time there was a similar school at Chartiers. In the third place, the spocific state- ment that Mr. McGready came from Dr. M'Millan's to this school, carries with it great force, as proving that a similar school was not then in operation nt Chartiers. In the fourth place, Mrs. Irwin's qualifications as a witness in the case, are thoroughly endorsed by her minister and Dr. Wylie. But her testimony has been assailed, first becauso she knew, or at least said, nothing about the Ten Mile school; and even the author of " Old Redstone" is repre- sented as " entirely having set it aside,'' on this account. Now this is a sheer mistake. The fact of her silence in reference to Mr. Dodd's school, is distinctly recognized and accounted for. The truth is, Mrs. Irwin ignores that school precisely in the same way that Mr. Doddridge, nearly forty years before, in his "Notes on the Life and Manners of the Western Settlers," giving an account of the first movements in the cause of education, ignored it ; and just as Rev. Messrs. Joseph Patterson and Robert Patterson also both ignored it. When not ono of these mado the least allusion expressly to the TIIE ORIGIN OF JEFFERSON COLLEGE. -J 05 Ton Mile school, it is not strange that Mrs. Irwin does not. Bat, in tho sec- ond place, it is thought that tho error she committed about Mr. McGready being a laborer on Dr. M'Millan's farm vitiates her whole testimony. (The legal maxim is, " FalsuB in \mo ) /alnis in omnibus/" not " ignarns <';< una, ijnnrua in omnibus.") .Much pains are taken to refute this statement; and the testimony of Mrs. Harper and Mrs. Park is adduced to show how utterly erroneous it was ; and quite an eloquent and moving representation is given of the odious light in which it places Dr. M'Millan — how that he, forgetting or disregarding the injunction of his preceptor, Dr. Smith, of Pequea, for near ten years took a young man that had been sent to him all the way from North Carolina, in order that he might train and educate him for the minis- try, and set him to work for him on his farm ! Now, we have no doubt, this was a mistake, or an inadvertence on tho part of Mrs. Irwin. And yet it was not strange that she made such a statement. About that unimportant circumstance, she had heard what was true, in part, at that time, viz : that Mr. McGready was not then engaged in regular study ; but was known or seen to be, sometimes, at the Doctor's, aiding in farming operations — at least in looking after the Doctor's affairs in his absence, as Mrs. Harper admits. The position of Mr. McGready, at that time, is no doubt correctly given by those ladies. We will further add, that we have learned, from a very intelligent source, that Mr. McGready, during the summer of 1785, took the small-pox and lay very low for some time, so that his life was nearly despaired of — that he slowly recovered, and that the first time he was ablo to go abroad, he attended a sacramental meeting in the Mingo Creek settle- ment, where Mr. Smith was assisting Dr. M'Millan on the occasion ; and that under the preaching of Mr. Smith, Mr. McGready was brought under doep spiritual exercises of mind, which resulted in a hearty surrender of himself to his Saviour and his service ; that he continued to regain his health and strength, but was still unable, for some time, to apply himself to regular studies. On the opening of Mr. Smith's school, he repaired to Buffalo. Ha had already made some progress in his preparatory course, even before he left North Carolina; and whilst teaching the English school for Dr. M'Mil- lan, of which Mrs. Harper testifies, for she was his pupil. He prosecuted his studios with Dr. M'Millan, just as others did, both before and after this time ; but there being no regular arrangement for classical studies at Chartiers, ho went, no doubt with the consent of Dr. M'Millan, to Buffalo. Now, this circumstance of his going to Buffalo, which is not, and cannot be called iu question, is a strong presumptive evidence that, as Mrs. Irwin says, •' there was no such school, at this time, at Chartiers." There is not any force, in our judgment, in the attempt to show that Mrs. Irwiu's statement would involve a reflection' on Dr. M'Millan, as having neglected tho injunction of his old teacher, Dr. Smith. We have no doubt, that as soon as ever the great revival (which began in the fall of 1781, and continued with signal power the following year,) brought out a number of pious, devoted youug 406 APPENDIX. men, Dr. M'Millan took measures to help them in their studies for the min- istry. But scarcely any of these fruits of the revival were brought out in his pastoral charge, though, in other respects, the results of this blessed sea- son were most abundant, both in Chartiers and Pigeon Creek. But though, in subsequent years, many ministers were raised up in these congregations, it was not so during the first eight or nine years of the Doctor's ministry. Facts and records will clearly show this. Notwithstanding, we have no doubt that Dr. M'Millan opened the way and welcomed to his house any that desired to receive his instructions. Bui ihe " Latin School" was not, as we think, the prominent matter from the beginning. His English school was early organized, and generally taught by those who were reciting, at his own house, to himself, in languages and sciences. And occasionally one or more students of the same description were also with him, besides the teachers ; such, perhaps, as Abraham Scott.* (4.) Dr. Carnahan's statement, though in part "of a derivative character," furnishes much support to the testimony of the witnesses already cited. It is true, that the greater part of what Dr. Carnahan states, he got from Mr. Wilkins. But he shows how much weight is to be attached to Mr. Wilkins' account. Dr. Carnahan regarded him as an intelligent man, and perfectly reliable. For he had lived with Dr. M'Millan during the very period under consideration — during the time that Mr. Ross was there. He knew all about Mr. Ross, and his family, and his former history. He expressly stated to Dr. Carnahan that Mr. Ross was engaged to teach the Doctor's children, and those of the neighborhood, while ho himself studied Latin with tlio Doctor. This gentleman remembered nothing of James Hughs, John Brice, R. Marshall and others studying Latin and Greek there. At least Dr. Car- nahan does not remombor that ho ever spoke of them. But the strongest point in Dr. Carnahan's testimony is, that he never heard any thing at *That Mr. Dodd and Mr. Smith should have a little preceded Dr. M'Millan in the cause of classical instruction is not only probable, from local causes, viz: that those who first begin to look forward to the ministry wore principally residing in their congregations ; but also from the prominent characters of these tw 7 o ministers. A decided turn for energetic action and for devising measures promptly for carrying on the great interests of the church, characterized these men. Ou the other hand, Dr. M'Millan's mind was eminently conservative. He was wise in counsel. He was an able defender of the " old paths.'' His mind was not of the inventive order. He was not ecclesiastically a De Witt Clinton or a Henry Clay, but much more a John Mar- shall. He was not the Luther or Calvin of the West, but rather the Melancthon, or the Turretine, or the Beta. He did not originate or lead forward the missionary move- ment in behalf of the western Indians. That honor must be assigned to Messrs. Macurdy. James and Thomas Hughs. Marquis, and others. 80 some of those men, with Dr. Anderson, led the way in the temperance cause, and in the Sunday school cause. The post unanimously assigned to Dr. M'Millan was to give theological instruction, ami, for 7iiore than thirty years, to aid in training young men, tor th"ir great work of preaching the everlasting gospel. THE ORIGIN OF JEEFERSON COLLEGE. 407 variance with this general account during all the time that he lived at Oanonsburg, — nor until he met with a different view, given by Lis old friend, l*r. M. Brown, and even then he could recall nothing that shook his confidence in Mr. Wilkins' statement.® Prof. Patterson, besides describing this testimony as " of a derivative character," (and therefore more closely resembling a largo mass of his own testimony,) has taken several exceptions to this statement of Dr. Carnahan. Put we shall not attempt to follow him in his criticisms. We hopo the reader will give them all the force they merit. Noithor do we think it necessary to travel over the whole ground in company with Prof. Patterson's witnesses, many of whom we know are of the most respectable character. The testimony of Dr. M'Millan's children claims very great respect. The statements of the late venerable Mr. John M'Millan, about what he heard his father say, are certainly strong. But it would not be difficult to show how they might all be accounted for, without, in the slightest degree, impeaching the veracity of either father or son, and yet leaving the general conclusion supported by such witnesses as Rev. Robert Patterson, Rev. Joseph Patterson, Mrs. Irwin, Mr. Wilkins, and Dr. Wylie, unshaken. And so with regard to the testimony of the late Mrs. Jane Harper, f Her testimony, indeed, is a little on both sides ; for she * The entire statement of Dr. Carnahan, as given by Prof. Patterson, was read over slowly and distinctly to Dr. Addison, of Pittsburgh, son of the distinguished Judge Addison, and one of Mr. Ross' executors by his will, and who is known to be more intimately acquainted with Mr. Ross' history than any one now living. He assured •js that Dr. Oarnahan's account might be fully relied on as perfectly true. In his vivacious manner he added : " It is, every word of it, gospel." He further confirmed Dr. C.imahan's account of Mr. Ros.-' scholarship. He likewise confirmed Mr. Wilkins' statement of the earlier history of Mr. Ross; and further related the circumstance that accounted for Mr. Ross' sudden and almost instantaneous rise at the bar, as soon as he commenced practice as a lawyer. •f This venerable lady has recently died. In an obituary notice, published in the '' Banner and Advocate," respecting Mrs. Jane Harper, widow of the late Samuel Harper, Esq.. and eldest daughter of the late Rev. John M'Millan, D. D., it is stated, (the italics are ours.): "Mrs. Harper passed through eventful times iu the civil and religious history of Western Pennsylvania, of much of which her mind was au accurate repository, &c. She had a kind remembrance of James Ross and James McGready — the former of whom became an eminent lawyer and statesmen; the latter a renowned Evangelist and pastor in Kentucky. They had lived in her father's family, and had been her teachers. The former had taught a Latin and English school in a log-cabin, near her fathers house, while he was pursuing his legal studies ; which of course was prior to 1V84, for in that year he w;us admitted to the bar, and entered at once upon a large practice. Mrs. Harper always asserted that those annalists of the Western church, who postpone her father's log-cabin school to a later date then those of the Rev. Joseph Smith, on Buffalo, and Rev. Thaddeus Dodd, on Ten-Mile, are in error. She said her father's was started before either of them, in a rude log-cabin, near the house, which was soon afterwards burnt down ; whereupon Mr. Ross left, and all the pupils except Mr. M'Gready, who remained in 408 APPENDIX. remembers about Dr. M'Millan's English school, and who taught, it, &c. But the most important witness is the venerable Mrs. Park. That she, at the age of eighty-five, has given the honest impressions which she recalled of her childhood and youth, we have not the smallest doubt. It has seemed to us, however, that she has blended the reminiscences of different dates in such a manner, that, in a way perfectly natural, she has thrown back upon earlier years impressions of later periods. We appeal to all who have been conversant with very aged persons, whether this has not often been noticed. It is also surprising to find that her memory fails on certain particulars, when wo might have expected as much distinctness of recollection as in other cases. She remembers nothing of Mr. Ross being a scholar ms well as a teacher — nothing of Mr. McGready's teaching — nothing of Dr. M'Millan's English school. Her impressions about certain young men may possibly belong to a period a few years later than she supposes.* Her entire testimony about the books and about the Latin school may easily bo accounted for in the same way. It seems to us, indeed, that her testimony warrants the conclusion that clasical studies were, at an early period, pursued by different persons at the Doctor's own house, and sometimes by the assistance of the teacher, such may have been the case in reference to Mr. Ross. As to the testimony of tho Hon. II. M. Brackenridge — of the children of George White, (who went to qualify himself to teach an English school,) of Dr. Colver, r. M'Millan's Log-Cabin."— .Rer. Dr. Wylie, in letter above cited. f Sun. estimate may !»■ formed, perhaps, of the weight to be attached to the i part of all the testimony which Prof. Patterson has collected; and to tho current traditions about Canon sburg, If wo onlj consider lev ever; one of these witnesses would have answered Hi" questions: • • I > i • I Jefferson I i i g-Cabin ' school?" "Is this, t" the best of your knowledge, the Would not both these question rod promptly and unanimously in the afflrmat i iretdoei iry one . ■ < cts per doz. copies. 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