Miller's Run Presbyterian Church
The following, regarding Miller's Run Presbyterian Church, was extracted from the book, History of Washington County, Pennsylvania with Biographical Sketchies of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men (Boyd Crumrine, editor):
Bob Ware
At a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Rev. William Smith, D.D., held at the Miller's Run Presbyterian Church, May 14 and 15, 1873, Dr. Smith delivered an address, in which he gave a history of the congregation, from which the following account is mainly taken:
The Miller's Run congregation was organized about the year 1800. This is inferred from the fact that its name appears for the first time on the records of the Ohio Presbytery for that year. On the 26th of June in that year Rev. John Watson was ordained and installed pastor. He died Nov. 20, 1802, and was succeeded by Rev. James Dunlap, who preached as stated supply till the 22d of April, 1812, when he removed to the bounds of the Redstone Presbytery. Rev. Andrew Wylie was ordained and installed June 23, 1813, and remained pastor till May 28, 1817. He was succeeded by Rev. William McMillan, who labored as stated supply till April, 1823. (All the ministers named above were presidents of Jefferson College.) At the April meeting of Presbytery in 1823, in accordance with a request of the people, Dr. Smith was appointed to supply the congregation without any limitation as to time, and on the first Sabbath of May in that year he commenced his labors as stated supply. He was ordained, sine titulo, to the office of the ministry Dec. 31, 1824, but was never formally installed pastor of the congregation. The following are the names of the elders who officiated in the congregation when he commenced his ministerial labors in it: Alexander McElroy, William Simpson, John Aiken, John Lindsay, Andrew Vaneman, and James Jerviss. The first meeting-house was built of logs, about the year 1790. It was very uncomfortable, and when the weather was favorable the congregation preferred to meet at the tent in the grove, a little below where the sexton's house now stands.
In 1823 the number of communicants was eighty-five. This increased to one hundred and thirty. Three hundred and fifty communicants were admitted on examination during the ministry of Dr. Smith. In the fifty years of his ministry seventeen young men in the congregation received a liberal education. Eleven became ministers of the gospel. When he commenced his labors in the congregation there was not a carriage, buggy, or vehicle of any kind to be seen on the ground belonging to the congregation. Those who had horses came to church on horseback; those who had none came on foot. It was not an unusual thing to see girls on their way to church carrying their shoes and stockings, which they put on when they came near the church. When the religious services were ended they proceeded a short distance from the church, unshod themselves, and returned to their homes barefooted as they came. This was customary not only at Miller's Run Church, but all over the Western country.
The ministry of the Rev. Dr. Smith was closed by his resignation after about a half-century of service. After his retirement the Rev. William Ewing, who has charge of the Canonsburg Academy, was appointed by the Presbytery as a supply, and is still in charge.
Crumrine, Boyd (ed.), History of Washington County, Pennsylvania with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men (Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & Company, 1882).
The Miller's Run congregation was organized about the year 1800. This is inferred from the fact that its name appears for the first time on the records of the Ohio Presbytery for that year. On the 26th of June in that year Rev. John Watson was ordained and installed pastor. He died Nov. 20, 1802, and was succeeded by Rev. James Dunlap, who preached as stated supply till the 22d of April, 1812, when he removed to the bounds of the Redstone Presbytery. Rev. Andrew Wylie was ordained and installed June 23, 1813, and remained pastor till May 28, 1817. He was succeeded by Rev. William McMillan, who labored as stated supply till April, 1823. (All the ministers named above were presidents of Jefferson College.) At the April meeting of Presbytery in 1823, in accordance with a request of the people, Dr. Smith was appointed to supply the congregation without any limitation as to time, and on the first Sabbath of May in that year he commenced his labors as stated supply. He was ordained, sine titulo, to the office of the ministry Dec. 31, 1824, but was never formally installed pastor of the congregation. The following are the names of the elders who officiated in the congregation when he commenced his ministerial labors in it: Alexander McElroy, William Simpson, John Aiken, John Lindsay, Andrew Vaneman, and James Jerviss. The first meeting-house was built of logs, about the year 1790. It was very uncomfortable, and when the weather was favorable the congregation preferred to meet at the tent in the grove, a little below where the sexton's house now stands.
In 1823 the number of communicants was eighty-five. This increased to one hundred and thirty. Three hundred and fifty communicants were admitted on examination during the ministry of Dr. Smith. In the fifty years of his ministry seventeen young men in the congregation received a liberal education. Eleven became ministers of the gospel. When he commenced his labors in the congregation there was not a carriage, buggy, or vehicle of any kind to be seen on the ground belonging to the congregation. Those who had horses came to church on horseback; those who had none came on foot. It was not an unusual thing to see girls on their way to church carrying their shoes and stockings, which they put on when they came near the church. When the religious services were ended they proceeded a short distance from the church, unshod themselves, and returned to their homes barefooted as they came. This was customary not only at Miller's Run Church, but all over the Western country.
The ministry of the Rev. Dr. Smith was closed by his resignation after about a half-century of service. After his retirement the Rev. William Ewing, who has charge of the Canonsburg Academy, was appointed by the Presbytery as a supply, and is still in charge.
Crumrine, Boyd (ed.), History of Washington County, Pennsylvania with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men (Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & Company, 1882).
