844 Wyoming Conference
CHAPTER XVI
WYOMING DISTRICT
Alderson, Pa.
After the Conference of
1888 the to-be-developed Harvey's
Lake, and Kunkle, which was taken from the Dallas charge, were
put together and constituted a charge, to which R. P. Christopher
was sent as supply. There was no organization at the Lake and no
place for holding services. The first preaching service was at the
picnic ground on the north end of the Lake, on April 22, 1888.
Services were held there
for several weeks, with large congrega-
tions.
Knowing that this outdoor work would be temporary, the
pastor secured the use of the Lehigh Valley passenger coaches
which lay at the Lake over Sunday. On Sunday, May 13, 1888,
the class was organized in car No. 94, with thirteen members, of
which Alfred Honeywell was made the leader. On the same Sun-
day a Sunday school was organized with thirty members. Meet-
ings were held
in the cars until December 9, 1888, when the so-
ciety
took possession of a building built as a schoolhouse and place
of worship. This was accomplished through the kindness of Mr.
Albert Lewis.
"The Methodist
Episcopal Church of Alderson, Luzerne County,
Pa.," was
incorporated on May 28, 1896, with George E. Morris,
A. V. Honeywell, Adam
Stull, Arthur L. Stull, and G. D. Can-
field trustees.
On August 17, 1896,
Albert Lewis and wife Lillian deeded the
society a lot containing about one half acre for $300. The lot was
valued at $1,000. On August 23, 1896, the church, which had cost
$3,100,
was dedicated. Rev. O. J. Cowles, D.D., of New York,
preached morning and evening. The sum of $650 was needed and
readily raised. Rev. J. G. Eckman, D.D.,
conducted the dedicatory
service at the close of the evening sermon. The auditorium seats
two hundred and fifty, and the Sunday school room, which seats
one hundred, may be opened into the auditorium. At an after-
noon service addresses were made by Revs. J. W.
Price and J. G.
Eckman, several adults were baptized, and a number received into
the church.
The parsonage was built
in 1897 at a cost of $1,200.
The Ladies' Aid Society
was organized on October 25, 1888.
Ashley, Pa. 845
Harvey's Lake
appointment appeared in the Minutes of 1889, and
its present name was
assumed in 1895.
Kunkle Methodism began about
1853, when the Lehman pastor
began holding meetings
biweekly at the home of Conrad Kunkle.
The first class
consisted of Conrad Kunkle, leader, and wife, Henry
King and wife, John
King, Mrs. Steele, and Mrs. John Fisher.
The meetings were taken
from Mr. Kunkle's home to the school-
house where they were
continued until the building of the church.
"The Methodist
Episcopal Church of Kunkle" was incorporated
on October 29, 1887,
with Samuel R. Hess, John D. Isaacs, Gordon
C. Boice, O. L. Fisher,
and James P. Fisher trustees. John D.
Isaacs was class leader
ten years or more prior to his death in
1897. On April 1, 1888,
Theodore F. Ryman and wife Eliza B.
W. P. Ryman and wife
Charlotte M., Ruth E. and Leslie Ryman
deeded the society a lot
in consideration of $1. Prior to the con-
veying of the lot the
church had been built at a cost of $1,300. It
was dedicated on
Wednesday, March 14, 1888, by Rev. A. H.
Tuttle, D.D. The church
was repainted and a bell purchased in
1896.
Kunkle was with Lehman a
while, subsequently with Dallas,
and put with Harvey's
Lake in 1889.
Pastorates
1888, R. P. Christopher;
1889, W. E. Vandermark, J. W. Price
(each serving part of
the year); 1890, J. W. Price; 1891-94,
J. Benninger; 1895-99,
C. B. Henry; 1900-01, H. L. Ellsworth;
1902-03, J. C. Leacock.
Ashley, Pa.
Ashley goes into history
as the place of many names, having
been called Skunktown,
Hard Scrabble, Peestown, Hightown,
Newtown, Hendricksburg,
Coalville, Nanticoke Junction, and
finally Ashley, when by
petition to court the borough of Ashley
was created. This place
was a part of the Hanover, subsequently
called Newport, Circuit
at its formation in 1842. (See Askam.)
At that time it was
called the Pees neighborhood, and the class con-
sisted of Elijah
Richards, leader, and wife Louisa, Samuel and
Lydia Pees, Thomas and
Maria Brown, Joseph and Sarah Barnes,
Phoebe and Deborah
Williams, Christian Saums, Hannah Miller,
and Rachel Crosby.
In 1866 we find M.
Swallow appointed to Newtown, and A. D.
Alexander in 1867. From
1868 to 1870 the place is called Hen-
dricksburg, and in 1871
Ashley appears in the Minutes.
846 Wyoming Conference
In the winter of 1868-69
a revival work brought "scores of the
business men of the town
and whole families to God." Early in
the spring of 1869 work
was commenced on a brick church, the lot
having been donated to
the society by the Lehigh and Susque-
hanna Coal Company. The
church, which cost $9,500, was dedi-
cated on November 11,
1869. Rev. B. I. Ives preached in the
morning from Matt, v,
16, and Rev. George Peck, D.D., in the
evening from Eccles. v,
1,2.
From 1866 to 1868 some
adjacent places were with this society,
but in 1869 it was
alone.
The parsonage was built
in 1870, costing $3,000, and on Novem-
ASHLEY CHURCH [photo]
ber 2 it was dedicated, a
district meeting being held there at the
time.
In 1872 Mr. J. C. Wells,
in memory of his deceased wife, Jane
Fellows Wells, presented
the church with its bell.
In 1881 $1,200 was
raised to free the society from debt.
After an expenditure of
$2,800 in new windows, lighting, heat-
ing, and other
improvements the church was reopened on Septem-
ber 26, 1884. Rev. A.
Griffin preached in the morning and Rev.
J. G. Eckman at night.
In 1890 the Sunday school room in the
rear of the church was
built at a cost of $1,600. On August 15,
1891, the corner stone
of the new front was laid by Rev. M. S.
Hard, D.D., assisted by
several former pastors. After an expend-
iture of $6,000 in
building the new front, refitting and furnishing
the auditorium and Sunday
school room, the building was reopened
on Sunday, January 31,
1892. Rev. W. H. Pearce, D.D., preached
Askam, Pa. 847
in the morning and Rev.
M. S. Hard, D.D., in the evening. The
sum of $1,500 was asked,
and $2,881.75 was raised during the day.
Mr. J. C. Wells led the
choir of this church over thirty-two
years.
Pastorates
1866, M. Swallow;
1867-69, A. D. Alexander; 1870-71, A. C.
Bowdish; 1872, J. G.
Eckman; 1873-74, J. F. Wilbur; 1875-76,
W. S. Wentz; 1877-79,
Jonas Underwood; 1880-82, J. F. Warner;
1883-85, M. D. Fuller;
1886-88, John Bradshaw; 1889-91, W. M.
Hiller; 1892-95, J. B.
Sweet; 1896-99, S. Jay, 1900, H. H. Dresser;
1901, A. J. Van Cleft;
1902-03, H. L. Ellsworth.
ASKAM, Pa.
As Askam is the remnant
of the Newport Circuit we give here
some facts concerning
it. Rev. J. K. Peck said:
"The circuit and
society were formed in the last century [writ-
ing in 1897], I think in
1793. In 1788 Anning Owen organized a
class on Ross Hill, near
Kingston, another class in Hanover, on the
green, and another on
Ruggles or Hoover Hill. These were the
pioneer classes of the
whole of the old Genesee Conference. The
Hanover and Hoover Hill
classes are still existent, and were a
part of the Newport
Circuit. They built a small meetinghouse on
Hanover Green, and the
first travehng Methodist preacher, Wil-
liam Colbert, preached
in it on May 19, 1793. Until this meeting-
house was under roof the
society had worshiped in private houses
and once in a gristmill.
There were then no other churches of
any denomination between
Baltimore and the North Pole. So
Hanover was the first
church of all in this territory. It stood as
the mother of all for
half a century, and was seen by my uncle,
George Peck, in 1818. I
saw the outlines of the foundation, in
1887, pointed out to me
by Abner Hendershot, an aged man, who
remembered a Sunday
school in it when he was a small boy. The
churches now standing as
historical relics were built after this
one, the old Forty Fort
church having been built fourteen years
after this one. The old
structure was never rebuilt. Bishop
Asbury preached in it
when it was new, and just fifty years later,
in 1853, I was sent to
Newport Circuit. Hanover Green and
Hoover Hill were regular
appointments of mine, and not one
Methodist church had
been erected on that circuit during all that
half century. The charge
was my first in the Conference, and I
preached in eight
schoolhouses and one Presbyterian church in
Newtown (Ashley). I
remained only one year, and during the
848 Wyoming Conference
year I was ordered by
the school officers to vacate the school-
houses. I commenced to
build a church, and had it nearly done
when I left for Conference.
I laid plans to build another, when
one of the lawyers in
Wilkes-Barre told me to go into the school-
house and preach,
whether the doors were locked or not. He drove
the school directors out
of his office when they went to consult him
as to locking the
schoolhouses against us. He told me if I had
any legal trouble I
should come to him and he would defend me
for no fee. He was E. B.
Harvey, a teacher in Wyoming Semi-
nary when I was a
student there. I had an appointment at Hoover
ASKAM CHURCH [photo]
Hill one Sunday evening,
when a large congregation gathered and
found the door locked. A
man named Fisher loosened a window
and put a boy inside,
who pushed the bolt and opened the door.
When I arrived the
congregation was seated inside, and I preached
my sermon. That was the
last of the locking out.
"I went on with the
church building, procured the deed, wrote
it myself, got the owner
and his wife to sign it, and recorded it in
Wilkes-Barre, and it
holds the coal under it yet. It is the Wan-
amie church.
"The people of the
circuit had been supplied from Wilkes-Barre
nearly fifty years from
the time that Colbert, Asbury, Owen, and
Askam, Pa. 849
Cook founded the
classes. Uncle George preached on Hoover
Hill when I was a young man,
and stationed in Wyoming, as long
ago as 1818. I heard
David A. Shepard preach on the Green in
1845. I was not a
preacher then, but marched with the soldiers
and carried a musket,
and fired shots over the grave of the de-
ceased, because he was a
soldier and fought in the Wyoming
battle and escaped the
massacre. He was the grandfather of Mrs.
Safford, whom you know.
"When I was
preaching on the charge Priscilla Lee was one
of my members. She
afterward became the wife of Hon. Ziba
Bennett, and was one of
the noblest of all noble women in the
whole country.
"Three men who are
immortal in history escaped the massacre
and settled on that
charge, built houses and reared their families —
Richard Inman, in whose house
Asbury preached. He it was who
shot the Indian, in the
deathly pursuit on the bloody day, and
saved the life of Rufus
Bennett. Rufus Bennett settled there and
built his log house,
which is still standing with its logs and stone
chimney and hearthstone.
It stood when I was on the charge last
within a dozen rods of
my residence. Blackman, Inman, and
Bennett died and left
their descendants on the soil of Hanover."
This circuit included
Peestown, Hoover Hill, Hanover, Nanti-
coke, Lutzville, Mountain
Top, Alden, Wanamie, and Glen Lyon.
It was first supplied
from Wyoming Circuit and subsequently was
with Wilkes-Barre as
Newport Mission, receiving aid from the
Missionary Society until
1853.
Another writer says that
Anning Owen formed the class at
Hanover Green in 1790.
The class included Ashbel and Joseph
Waller, John How, Abram
Adams, with a number of women.
Ashbel Waller was the
first class leader, and subsequently became
a local preacher.
Another historian
records the following: Askam used to be
known as Hanover Center.
The society was organized in 1820,
in an old log
schoolhouse on Hoover Hill, on the Middle road, a
little northwest of
Plumbton. The first class leader was Nathan
Carey, and the early members
of the class were Sarah Carey,
Sally Bennett, Harvey
and Celestia Holcomb, Elsie and William
Askam, Catharine,
Angeline, and Lorenzo Ruggles, Sarah Black-
man, Ruth Ann Eggleston,
Sarah Downing, Ehsha Blackman,
Lovinia Smiley, Mary Ann
Carey, Joseph, Sarah, and Margaret
Steele, Elizabeth and
Joseph Inman, and Lucinda Marcy.
In 1861 the society
built a wooden church 28x36, costing $500.
The site for the present
church was a gift to the society. The
850 Wyoming Conference
church, which cost
$4,000, was dedicated by Bishop Foss on April
4, 1889, nearly one
hundred years after the dedication of the first
church of any
denomination in northeastern Pennsylvania, the old
Hanover church. The
building was extensively repaired in 1900,
at a cost of $1,200.
The parsonage was built
in 1893, at a cost of $1,000.
Wanamie was with Hanover,
or Askam, until 1886.
SUGAR NOTCH CHURCH [photo]
From the opening of the
Sugar Notch mines in 1860 there was
occasional preaching by
Methodist preachers in the schoolhouse
until 1878, when the
Ashley pastor formed a class with William
Vance and Thomas Prisk
as leaders. The class included Mrs.
Vance, Mrs. H. Floyd,
Mrs. I. Hoskins, George Lewis and wife,
Noah Pursell and wife,
John Fowler and wife, William Carpenter
and wife, William Reese
and wife, James Thomas and wife,
William Netherton and
wife, Thomas Fulton, and Earnest Floyd.
Public services were
held in the hall over Conyngham's store.
The society was with
Ashley, subsequently with Mountain Top,
and in 1886 became a
part of Askam charge.
The site for the church
was given the society, and the church,
which cost $4,000, was
dedicated by Bishop Foss on June 7, 1889.
Pastorates
Hanover: 1842, Epenetus
Owen; 1843, Thomas Wilcox.
Newport Mission (the
circuit): 1846, G. B. Cooper; 1847, J. D.
Safford; 1848, T. D. Walker;
1849, Z. S. Kellogg; 1850-52, O. F.
Morse; 1853, J. K. Peck;
1854-55, F. Illman; 1856-57, Erastus
Avoca, Pa. 851
Smith; 1858, Melville Smith;
1859-60, W. Keatley; 1861, J. La
Bar; 1862-63, A. J. Van
Cleft; 1864-65, M. Swallow; 1866, George
Pritchett; 1867-68, R.
Hiorns; 1869, O. M. Martin; 1870-71,
F. A. King; 1872, J.
Madison; 1873, J. H. Paddock.
Hanover until 1889, when
it took the name of Askam: 1874-76,
J. R. Wagner; 1877-78,
F. A. Dony; 1879-80, J. B. Davis; 1881-
82, P. Houck; 1883-85,
Jonas Underwood; 1886-89, J- K. Peck;
1890-91, L. E. Van
Hoesen; 1892, A. Schofield; 1893-94, F. N.
Smith; 1895-96, W. S.
Wilcox; 1897-99, N. J. Hawley; 1900-02,
J. R. Wagner; 1903, J.
N. Bailey.
AVOCA, Pa.
Avoca formerly called
Pleasant Valley, was an afternoon ap-
pointment on the
Lackawanna charge a few years before it be-
came a charge in 1880,
when the charge was called Pleasant Valley
and Hughestown.
A chapel was built in
Pleasant Valley in 1878 and dedicated on
December 8, 1878, by
Rev. A. Griffin. About the same time a
AVOCA CHURCH AND PARSONAGE [photo]
chapel was built at Hughestown.
This was disposed of in 1881,
and Pleasant Valley
constituted the charge. The name was
changed to Avoca in
1889.
The parsonage was built
in 1881, costing $900.
In 1890 the church was
enlarged to 35x56 feet utilizing the
old chapel in the new
building. The audience room seats three
hundred and sixty and
has a gallery which seats one hundred. A
steam-heating plant was
installed which heats both church and
852 Wyoming Conference
parsonage. These with
other improvements cost $2,600, $1,600
of which was raised on
the day of reopening. May 8, 1890. Rev.
W. L. Phillips, D.D.,
preached in the morning and Rev. J. R.
Angel in the evening,
after a praise service conducted by Rev.
W. B. Westlake. In 1895
a bell was purchased and flagstone
walks laid. In 1903 $725
was expended in a steel ceiling, decora-
ting, new carpets, and
the installation of electric lights.
"The Methodist
Episcopal Church of Pleasant Valley and
Hughestown" was
incorporated on June 12, 1880, with George W.
Shales, Courtland E.
Rolles, William H. Hollister, Henry Chap-
man, Charles W.
Mattheson, Charles Hine, and Jacob W. Welter
trustees. On March 24,
1882, R. W. Lacoe, Jeremiah B. Shiffer
and wife Almeda B.
deeded the society, for $150, the lot upon
which the chapel and
parsonage were built.
Most of the pastors have
seen accessions by revival work. How-
ever, the revival of
1888-89, in which over one hundred were con-
verted, is the most
extensive revival in the history of the church.
Pastorates
1880-81, C. H. Sackett; 1882-83,
G. C. Lewis; 1884-85, W. W.
Smith; 1886, E. L.
Santee; 1887, S. Elwell; 1888-92, F. P. Doty;
1893-94, G. T. Price;
1895, J. R. Wagner; 1896-98, L. E. Van
Hoesen; 1899-1901, R. M.
Pascoe; 1902-03, D. L. McDonald.
Carverton, Pa.
Documentary evidence
concerning this charge is somewhat
meager. This territory
was first in the Northmoreland Circuit,
then in the Lehman
Circuit, subsequently in the Truxville Circuit,
which included the
territory now in Carverton, Dallas, Truxville,
and part of Northmoreland.
"In 1799 a class of
forty members was organized at this place
[Harris Hill]. Prior to
this, however, Gilbert Carpenter, an
earnest and successful
local preacher, had a regular appointment
here. David Stevens was
the first traveling preacher to visit the
place. Charles Harris,
'Father Harris,' was one of the first fruits
of Methodism in this
place. He lived to be over ninety years of
age, a happy, highly
respected, and greatly loved old man."
The church at Carverton was
built in 1854, upon a piece of
land containing forty
perches, deeded to the society by Rufus
Carver and wife Nancy in
consideration of $25. The trustees at
the time were Samuel C.
Durland, Hiram Harris, Elisha Harris,
Jacob Heft, George
Frantz, Solomon Frantz, William Frantz,
Carverton, Pa. 853
David A. Reeve, and
Samuel Jackson. On April 7, 1860, Rufus
Carver and wife deeded
the society ninety-four perches of land
for $25. A parsonage was
built on this lot the same season, cost-
ing $900, which was
rebuilt in 1883 at an expense of $500.
"The Methodist
Episcopal Church of Carverton" became in-
corporated on November
1, 1866, with Horatio Mulford, John
Hay, David Reeves, Samuel
Honeywell, George Frantz, Miller
Montanye, and Samuel
Jackson as trustees.
Mount Zion church is
in Exeter township. This society was
formed from parts of two
societies or classes, Sutton's Creek and
the Old Red Schoolhouse district.
The first class leader and
Sunday school
superintendent was Levi C. Lewis. The society
worshiped in the
schoolhouse at Mount Zion until the building
of the church in 1851.
On January 25, 1851, Valentine De Witt
deeded the trustees,
Levi C. Lewis, Isaac Stephens, and Eri Wil-
son, the site,
containing forty-nine perches, for $1. The corporate
name of the society is
"Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in Exeter."
On February 19 of the same year the trustees
entered into a contract
with Levi C. Lewis to build a church "in
as good a style as the
Truxville meetinghouse." The building was
finished November 1, and
cost about $1,000. It was dedicated by
Rev. D. A. Shepard. The
amount was pledged in subscriptions,
and the contractor took
the pledges in settlement.
Orange. That Methodism began
here at an early date may be
seen from the following:
On May 10, 1837, Almanzo Rogers
and wife Sarah, in
consideration of $1, deeded to Oliver Lewis,
Benjamin Chandler, John
C. Winters, Henry Isakwish, Almanzo
Rogers, and Daniel
Bodle, "trustees of the Union meetinghouse of
the Methodist Episcopal
Church," forty-two perches of land
"south of the
meetinghouse." This lot was for a cemetery. In
April, 1839, twenty-five
rods more were purchased of Mr. Rogers
for $2, and on December
16, 1882, a strip fourteen feet wide
adjoining the above was
purchased of William Heisler for $1.
The present church is
located in the center of the village, on a
lot adjoining the store
and post office. The corner stone was laid
on June 1, 1893, by Rev.
J. G. Eckman. The church, which cost
$3,200, was dedicated on
Wednesday, December 27, 1893. Rev.
J. R. Boyle, D.D.,
preached in the morning and Rev. J. F. Williams
in the afternoon. Rev.
J. G. Eckman managed the finances and
conducted the dedicatory
services. During the day $980 was
raised. At the time this
church was built the society purposed sell-
ing the old church and
lot and using the proceeds in building sheds.
854 Wyoming Conference
This society was once
called Union and was a part of North-
moreland Circuit until
1872, when it became a part of Carverton
charge.
Extensive revivals occurred
in 1873-74, 1879-80, 1881-82,
1885-87.
Pastorates
1860, C. L. Rice;
1861-62, J. W. Hunger; 1863, Y. C. Smith;
1864-65, A. J. Van
Cleft; 1866-68, J. La Bar; 1869-71, J. Madison;
1872-74, Isaac Austin;
1875-77, S. Elwell; 1878-80, F. A. King;
1881-82, G. C. Lyman;
1883-84, D. A. Sanford; 1885-87, C. H.
Sackett; 1888-89, H. G.
Harned; 1890-93, L. C. Murdock; 1894-
97, A. Wrigley;
1898-1902, Clark Callendar; 1903, C. E. Sweet.
Centermoreland, Pa.
The territory of this charge
was reached by the preachers of
Wyoming as early as
1818. "The class at Centermoreland was
organized before 1820,
and included members of the Brown, Pace,
Hallstead, Vincent,
Snyder, and Weld families. The class met
for some time at the
homes of different members, and the preach-
ing services were
usually held during the week. The first Sunday
service was at the home
of Mr. Pace in 1819. The first church
was built and dedicated
in 1829." It became too small and was
sold and removed, and is
now used as one of the public school-
rooms for primary work.
The present church was dedicated on
Thursday, February 17,
1870, Rev. D. C. Olmstead preaching in
the morning and the Rev.
George Landon in the evening. The
building cost $3,000,
$1,000 of which was raised on the day of
dedication. Prominent
among the workers at this time were Levi
Howell, Theodore Smith,
S. G. Smith, George Perrin, Joshua
Griffin, and William
Thompson. In 1889 $500 was expended in
building a tower,
purchasing a bell, and painting the church, and
in 1896 $650 was spent
in building and fitting up the basement.
The parsonage property
was purchased in 1840, and comprised
quite a number of acres.
Land has been sold off so that now there
are about two acres in the
parsonage property. The parsonage
burned in 1860, and a
new one was built in 1861. In 1899 $250
was spent in repairing
it.
This charge was known as
Northmoreland from its formation
in 1841 until 1890, when
its name was changed to Centermoreland.
Mrs. J. D. Safford,
whose husband was one of the preachers on
the circuit in 1848,
says: "Northmoreland Circuit included all
the charges from Union
to Tunkhannock, twenty-two appoint-
Centermoreland, Pa. 855
ments, one hundred miles
around the circuit. I only saw him
[her husband] one day
each month unless I went along. So we
almost lived in our
carriage. He used to say, 'This is all the
home we've got, and it's
all the home we want in this world.'"
In 1860 the circuit
comprised Northmoreland, Union (Orange),
Eaton, Thurston Hollow,
Dymond Hollow, Green Woods, Monroe
(Beaumont), Phenix,
Marsh Creek, and Bowman's Creek. Sub-
sequently classes were
formed at Michigan and Lake. In 1872
the Union class was
transferred to Carverton, and in 1882 Thurs-
ton Hollow to Eaton. In
1892 Noxen was taken up, and later
StuU and Exeter, and in
1896 De Munds. The charge now has
the following
appointments: Centermoreland, Beaumont, Vernon,
Dymond Hollow
(Lockville), and De Munds.
Dymond Hollow is
located in the town of Exeter. It is claimed
that the itinerant
preacher found his way to this place as early as
1800. It is very
probable that work was commenced here about
the same time it was at
Centermoreland. Joseph Whitlock, an
old settler, was the
first class leader, and meetings were held in
his house.
After the schoolhouse
was built the services were transferred to
it. The coming of some
Protestant Methodists into the neigh-
borhood created an
amount of friction, which led, at last, to the
erection of a church by
the Episcopal Methodists in 1835. The
present church was built
in 1869, and dedicated on Saturday,
November 27, of that year,
by Rev. D. C. Olmstead. Andrew
Montanye, Enoch
Whitlock, and John Dymond constituted the
building committee.
Beaumont. The class
at this point owns a quarter share in the
Union church.
Notwithstanding this fact, the society purchased
the present church lot
in 1866. O. C. Orcutt, S. J. Clark, Amos
Jackson, Elijah Lewis,
Will Carle, W. F. Clark, E. W. Parrish,
Abram Frear, S. J.
Howell, and J. W. Brown being prime movers
in the project. This lot
lay idle until the building of the church,
which cost $1,600. It
was dedicated on Sunday, May 28, 1893,
Rev. J. G. Eckman
preaching in the morning and Rev. J. F.
Williams in the evening.
Between two and three hundred dollars
was raised on the day of
dedication.
Vernon. This class was formed
before 1860, and was called
Green Woods. Meetings
were first held here by a local preacher,
Samuel Harrison. William
Moore was the first class leader. The
society worshiped in the
schoolhouse until the church was built
856 Wyoming Conference
in 1874-75. The church cost
$2,500, and was dedicated on
Wednesday, January 13,
1875. Rev. J. K. Peck preached in the
morning and Rev. Luther
Peck in the evening, $800 being raised
during the day.
Prominent among the promoters of the enter-
prise were Thomas
Pinder, Jacob Weaver, George Waters, and
Henry Webb.
De Munds was once on the
Carverton charge, but was dropped
in 1882. Meetings were
held here by the Protestant and Free
Methodists, but no class
farmed by either. In 1896 the Center-
moreland pastor
organized a class here, which gives promise of
great usefulness.
Services are held in the schoolhouse.
In 1887 one hundred and
ninety-five conversions occurred on
the circuit. Other
ingatherings have been experienced, but this
was the most extensive.
Pastorates
1841, King Elwell; 1842,
J. O. Boswell; 1843, J. O. Boswell,
Lewis Brown; 1844, John
Mulkey, J. B. Cooper; 1845, John
Mulkey, George P.
Porter; 1846, _____; 1847, E. Smith; 1848,
J. Young, J. D. Safford;
1849, C. E. Taylor; 1850, C. E. Taylor,
F. S. Chubbuck; 1851, A.
Bronson, A. H. Schoonmaker, O. F.
Morse; 1852, S. Wells;
1853, F. S. Chubbuck; 1854, C. L. Rice,
S. S. Kennedy; 1855, C.
L. Rice; 1856-57, J. La Bar; 1858, D.
Personeus; 1859-60, P.
Holbrook; 1861-62, J. S. Lewis; 1863,
T. D. Swartz; 1864,
_____; 1865, J. G. Eckman; 1866, Isaac
Austin; 1867-68, George
Greenfield; 1869-71, A. J. Arnold; 1872-
74, S. E. Walworth;
1875-77, W. Shelp; 1878-79, Isaac Austin;
1880-81, W. Keatley;
1882-83, W. H. Gavitt; 1884, R. J. Kellogg;
1885-86, J. B. Santee;
1887-89, G. F. Ace; 1890-91, J. R. Allen;
1892-93, W. R. Cochrane;
1894-96, J. W. Price; 1897-98, J. N.
Bailey; 1899-1903, Frank
James.
Clark's Summit, Pa.
During the summer of
1890 a Sunday school was organized at
Clark's Summit, the first
record of which bears date of September
7, 1890, and gives the
election of Mrs. Belle Perkins, superintend-
ent; Asa Nichols,
assistant superintendent; Charles Singer
secretary; Mrs. Etta
Beemer, organist; Miss Lydia Perkins,
assistant; and Mrs. Ellen
King, treasurer. There were six classes
and a total attendance
of forty-one. The school was held in the
reading room of the
hotel, the building not being in use at that
time. During the
following winter preaching services were held
Clark's Summit, Pa. 857
in the same room by the
Waverly pastor. The place then became
a part of Waverly charge
and continued until Clark's Summit
charge was formed in
1896. The school and church services were
fallen into the annex,
known as the ballroom, permission being
given to partition off a
portion of this room and use it for religious
work. The school grew
until in December, 1891, it had one hun-
dred and five members.
Preaching services were held on Sun-
CLARK’S SUMMIT CHURCH [photo]
day afternoons, the
Methodist and Baptist pastors of Waverly
alternating.
The necessity of a
church building soon became apparent. A
meeting was held on
September 8, 1891. However, some work
had been done prior to
the meeting. M. E. Clifford presided and
George Ludlow acted as
clerk. Through the pastor lot 157 on
Patrick and Powell's
plot was given to the society for $1 by B. F.
Evans, through his attorney
in fact, H. N. Patrick. The gift was
gladly accepted. M. M.
Hufford was asked to submit plans for a
building to cost from
$800 to $1,200. At a meeting held on Sep-
tember 22 W. M. Atherton
was elected treasurer, a plan for the
building selected, and a
resolution passed to build at once, pur-
chasing the lumber of M.
M. Hufford. As a number desired to
858 Wyoming Conference
contribute labor, the
building was erected by days' work under
the supervision of Mr.
Hufford. The church cost $1,272, and
was dedicated on January
14, 1892. Rev. Mr. Perry, of the
Baptist church, preached
in the afternoon, and Rev. M. S. Hard,
D.D., in the evening. A
total of $204 was raised during the day.
The dedication was
followed by a revival which greatly strength-
ened the society.
On November 28, 1892,
the Ladies' Aid Society purchased a
lot adjoining the church
lot of B. F. Evans for $115. Church
sheds were built upon
this lot costing $125.
The society became
incorporated as "The Clark's Summit
Methodist Episcopal
Church" on January 2, 1893, with M. E.
Clifford, Sylvester H.
Isby, George L. Coon, John B. Riker, and
William Atherton
trustees.
The society grew so that
in 1894 the church was too small. On
September 6, 1894, two
lots directly opposite the church were
purchased for $275. The
corner stone for the present church was
laid on Thursday,
October 11, 1894, by Rev. J. G. Eckman. The
church, which cost
$4,791, was dedicated on Thursday, March 14,
1895. Rev. W. H. Pearce,
D.D., preached in the morning, and
Rev. J. W. Webb, D.D.,
in the evening. After the evening sermon
Rev. J. G. Eckman
conducted the dedicatory, services. During the
day $3,000 was raised.
On December 3, 1898, a
contract was made for $1,297 to move
the sheds from the old
lot to the new one and to transform the old
church into a parsonage,
ready for occupancy by April 1, 1899.
Chinchilla. The first
Methodist sermon preached in Abington
township was delivered
by Rev. George Peck, in the house of
Ephraim Leach, in 1818.
The members of the first class were
Gideon Ellis and wife,
James Ross and wife, Ephraim Leach and
wife, John Weiss and
wife, and David Silsbee.
Preaching was had at
irregular intervals in the house of
Ephraim Leach, which
stood about thirty rods south of the spot
now occupied by the
church. Later the services were held in the
schoolhouse, known as
the Leach's Flats schoolhouse. In 1865
this society was
attached to the Clark's Green charge, and so re-
mained until 1878, when
it became a part of Waverly charge, and
when Clark's Summit
charge was formed it became a part of that
charge.
The church was built in
1868, costing from $1,200 to $1,500.
The sum of $1,150 was
paid in cash, and in addition to this Giles
Leach gave all the
hemlock lumber. The church was dedicated
Courtdale, Pa. 859
in 1868 by Rev. George
Peck. The promoters of the enterprise
were Giles Leach, James
Kiersted, Egbert Snyder, Charles Gernon,
Norman Leach, Isaac
Leach, Nathan Bailey, and Joseph Leach.
"The First
Methodist Episcopal Church of Chinchilla" became
incorporated on October
21, 1889, with William Streeter, Ernest
F. Snyder, and Egbert M.
Leach trustees.
Pastorates
1896-98, F. W. Young;
1899-1900, C. H. Reynolds; 1901, T. R.
Warnock; 1902-03, J. S.
Custard.
COURTDALE, Pa.
The class at Courtdale,
until 1898 called Pringleville, was or-
ganized in 1884 by Rev.
William Keatley, services being held in
the school building, the
only convenient place available for public
worship. The work
developed. A church site was donated by
Mr. George Courtright,
and by the help of generous friends out-
side the borough a
church was built, costing about $2,300. It
was dedicated on Sunday,
February 5, 1888, at 2:30 p. m. Rev.
J. G. Eckman preached,
and Rev. R. W. Van Schoick conducted
the dedicatory service.
The dedication was followed by a good
revival.
The lot for the
parsonage was contracted for on July 30, 1894,
and on January 4, 1898,
George Courtright deeded the lot to the
Courtdale Methodist
Episcopal Church for $350. The trustees
at the time were John W.
Dodson, S. A. Dodson, James Dodson,
Frank Hawley, and
William Courtright. The parsonage was
built in 1899 at a cost
of $1,500. In 1900 the debt of $1,000 was
reduced to $230, and
$200 spent in furnishing the parsonage.
The Ladies' Aid Society
has been an important factor in the
church work here. It has
paid heavily on the pastor's salary,
bought the bell, at $82,
carpet, which cost $70, took $200 toward
building the church,
paid $100 toward the parsonage lot, and
several minor
improvements have been made by it.
From the formation of
the class until 1887 this society was with
Larksville, and from
1887 to 1898 it was served by students from
Wyoming Seminary as
follows: 1887-88, R. W. Lowry; 1889-
90, William Smith;
1891-92, E. G. Heal; 1893, William Keatley;
1894, E. G. Heal;
1895-97, R. H. Reidy; 1898, A. H. Whitaker.
In 1899 Courtdale and
Larksville were joined together.
Larksville. It is
difficult to get at the beginnings of Methodism
in this place. The class
was at one time a part of Plymouth Cir-
860 Wyoming Conference
cuit. Subsequently it is
claimed to have been supplied by a trio
of Wyoming Seminary
students — Roe, Ramsay, and J. F. Wil-
liams. The first church,
which cost about $4,000, was dedicated
in February, 1872. At
this time the class formed a part of Kings-
ton charge. The burning
of the Kingston church on February
10, 1872, forced the
Kingston people to withhold the support
which had been promised to
the Larksville people. The little class
was hopelessly involved
in debt and the church was finally sold at
sheriff's sale and fell
into the hands of the Christian denomination,
who now occupy it. After
this loss the society held services in the
schoolhouse, the
Presbyterian church, and the homes of the people.
In 1884, Larksville
appears among the appointments, with William
Keatley as pastor. The
society was encouraged, and in 1886 built
the present church,
which cost $1,300, and in 1887 spent $500 in
improvements. The
society has purchased a new lot and work
has been begun on a
foundation for a new church.
Larksville was supplied
largely with students from the semi-
nary until Courtdale
charge was formed in 1899, when Larksville
became a part of it:
1884-86, William Keatley; 1887, H. L. Ells-
worth; 1888, G. E. Van
Woert; 1889-90, F. N. Smith; 1891-92,
M. V. Williams; 1893, B.
R. Hanton; 1894, G. N. Underwood;
189s, W. H. Decker;
1896, Floyd Leach; 1897, C. L. Hand;
1898, L L. Snyder.
Pastorates
1899, E. L. Sabin;
1900-01, G. C. Jacobs; 1902-03, H. A.
Greene.
Dallas, Pa.
Dallas
was a part of Wyoming Circuit in 1818, and the following
picture
is of the Kunkle house, in which meetings were regularly
held in those days. The house
was standing, in 1896, on the main
road from Dallas to
Northmoreland, and about one half mile from
the Dallas church.
Philip Kunkle was from Connecticut, and was
the class leader. He
bore the reputation of a saint. Subsequently
services were held in a
log schoolhouse situated on the same lot
now occupied by the
Dallas schoolhouse. About 1829 a school-
house was built by
William Honeywell and others on ground later
occupied by a
schoolhouse known as the Goss schoolhouse, on the
north side of Dallas
borough. After this schoolhouse was erected
services were usually
held in it by both Episcopal and Protestant
Methodists.
The first church was
built in 1854, on a site which was given
the
society by Henry King and wife Margaret, the deed being
Dallas, Pa. 861
executed on November 1,
1854, and was on the road leading from
Dallas to Harvey's Lake.
The trustees at the time were William
Honeywell, Abraham
Ryman, Simon Spencer, Richard S. Ryman,
KUNKLE HOUSE, DALLAS [photo]
William C. Roushey,
Christian Rice, and Jacob Rice, 2d. After
the building of the
present church this property was sold and con-
verted into a broom
factory. It is now called "Sunset Hall" and
rented to summer
boarders.
DALLAS CHURCH AND PARSONAGE [photo]
The present church was
built in 1889, and was dedicated on
June 5 of that year by
Bishop Foss. It is situated on the north
side of the village on
the brow of a little hill, on the Bowman's
862 Wyoming Conference
Creek road, overlooking
the village. The lot was bought of Mrs.
Almira Kirkendall for
$700. The church cost $11,300. Mrs.
Lynd, of Scranton,
raised $600 among Scranton friends to further
the project.
In 1902 a pipe organ was
purchased, and in 1903 $700 was ex-
pended in improving the
church and parsonage.
The first parsonage was
bought in 1883 for $1,800, and was sit-
uated next to the public
school building. The present parsonage,
beside the church, was built
in 1891 at a cost of $2,500. The old
parsonage was sold and
proceeds used in building this one.
In 1890 the society
raised $1,650 to liquidate the indebtedness
on the church.
This society was first
on the Wyoming Circuit, and subsequently
on the Northmoreland and
Carverton Circuits, and was on the
Lehman Circuit when it
was taken off in 1882 and made an
appointment. Kunkle was
with Dallas prior to being put with
Alderson.
Pastorates
1882, E. L. Santee;
1883-84, G. C. Lyman; 1885-87, S. J.
Austin; 1888-89, F-
Gendall; 1890, J. B. Cook; 1891-92, Jonas
Underwood; 1893, J. F.
Williams; 1894-97, W. B. Westlake;
1898, G. T. Price;
1899-1902, F. W. Young; 1903, David Evans.
W. B. Westlake died in
the fall of 1897, and the year was filled
out by G. C. Lyman.
DORRANCETON, Pa.
Dorranceton society is
the outgrowth of a Sunday school work
which was organized in
1890. The use of the public school build-
ing was granted for
Friday nights and Sundays, but no revival
services were to be held.
Mr. Noah Pettebone was the first su-
perintendent. In 1891
the school was taken to a newly constructed
hall over Vaughn's
store, where the school remained until going
into the church. The
school was a union school for some time,
other denominations
being recognized in the election of officers.
While in the school
building and hall preaching services were
held, and at one time a
plan was outlined by which various sur-
rounding Methodists and
Presbyterian pastors officiated. During
these years the
Methodists held cottage prayer meetings, and the
Methodist element in the
community gradually strengthened.
About 1893 the official
board of the Kingston Methodist Epis-
copal Church began
canvassing the advisability of buying a lot at
Dorranceton and
fathering a church project. Shortly after this
Mrs. Van Loon, of
Kingston, offered to give $1,000 toward build-
Eaton, Pa. 863
ing a church here,
providing she might have interest on the money
during her life. This
proposition gave life to the project. A com-
mittee was appointed to
solicit subscriptions, and a building
committee was also
appointed. Mr. G. L. Marcy made plans for a
building. On November
18, 1896, Mr. Marcy laid out the church
and drove the first
stake, and on January 7, 1897, the corner stone
was laid, the services being
held in Vaughn's hall. Rev. W. H.
Pearce, D.D., made the
address, and Rev. J. G. Eckman, D.D., laid
the stone. The church
was dedicated on June 6, 1897. The build-
ing cost about $2,000
and lots $1,000. The dedicatory sermon was
delivered by Rev. C. E.
Mogg, D.D. On Christmas Eve, 1901,
the last of the church
debt was paid and the mortgage publicly
burned. That evening,
about midnight, a brother stood upon the
entrance steps and
thrice sang the doxology.
The growth of the place
and society made it advisable to enlarge
the church. The corner
stone of the enlarged building was laid
on Wednesday, July 1,
1903, the addresses being made by Mr.
G. K. Powell and Rev. A.
Griffin, D.D. The new church will be
thoroughly modern, and
will cost about $11,000. It is nearing
completion as this book
goes to press.
Pastorates
1898-99, W. I. Andrews;
1900-01, G. S. Connell; 1902-03, S.
Jay.
Eaton, Pa.
Eatonville is the center
of Eaton township and about two miles
from Tunkhannock. Prior to
1881 the churchgoing population of
the place were largely
Baptists. Some, however, had moved into
the community who were
Methodists and formed a nucleus for a
Methodist church. The
church at Eatonville was dedicated on
September 18, 1881, at 2
p. m., by Rev. Austin Griffin. Mrs. W.
Dana, Charles Jayne,
Edward Jayne, and D. Herman were the
moving spirits in the
enterprise.
The parsonage was built
in 1895, costing $800, though not com-
pleted. In 1896 some
plastering was done and the grounds
graded.
Eatonville was on the
Mehoopany Circuit some time, and from
1881 to 1886 was with
Tunkhannock. Rev. G. M. Chamberlain
acted as pastor at
Eatonville in 1886. In 1887 the circuit was
formed by adding Union
Hill and Sugar Hollow from the Me-
hoopany Circuit, and
Thurston Hollow and South Eaton from
Centermoreland Circuit
to Eatonville. There is but one church
864 Wyoming Conference
on the circuit, though
at one point the class worships in a Baptist
church. No definite
information has been secured concerning the
origin or history of
most of these societies. Revival work from
time to time has
strengthened the circuit.
Pastorates
1887-88, George Pope;
1889, J. W. Harrison; 1890, J. S.
Crompton; 1891, J. H.
Perry; 1892, E. L. Davis; 1893, F. D.
Cornell; 1894, W. S.
Wilcox; 1895, E. D. Cavanaugh; 1896-98,
Frank James; 1899-1900,
G. A. Warburton; 1901-02, H. E.
Wheeler; 1903, A. H.
Brink.
Forty Fort, Pa.
Bishop Asbury visited
the work in Wyoming in the summer of
1807. His journal states
that on Sunday, July 19, "I went to
the woods and preached,
and ordained Christian and Thomas
Bowman deacons. Before I
got through my discourse the rain
came on, and I made a
brief finish; the people were attentive.
In the afternoon the
preachers and many of the people went to
OLD CHURCH, FORTY FORT [photo]
a barn; there were
showers of rain and thunder while service
was performing. My first
visit to Wyoming was in great toil and
to little purpose. I am
afraid I shall have no better success now."
The woods he refers to
were a grove by the old Forty Fort
church. "This was the
year that church was built, and the timber
was lying about at the
time Bishop Asbury was there. A stand
was prepared for the
preachers under the shade. When the
Forty Fort, Pa. 865
bishop kneeled to pray
it began to sprinkle, and William Butler
kneeled by his side and
held an umbrella over him. Before he
had finished his sermon
sharp lightning flashed and terrible
thunder roared. Many
were alarmed and fled, but the good
bishop was calm as a
summer evening. A little girl who was
brought by her mother to
hear the bishop was frightened by the
thunder and lightning;
observing the calmness of the good man,
she thought, 'It is
religion that makes him so fearless amid the
storm.' The impressions
which she received on that occasion
never left her until she
found the Saviour."
The church was so far
completed this year as to be used for
services. It was agreed
that the Methodists and Presbyterians
should have the use of
it alternately.
In 1809 a notable quarterly
meeting was held at Forty Fort.
We quote an extensive
account of it, as it is typical of the times:
"There was a great
crowd present at the meeting on Saturday.
Hopbottom [Brooklyn],
Canaan, Salem, Black Walnut, Wyalus-
ing, Huntington, Berwick,
Brier Creek, and Northumberland
each contributed its
share. It was feared that accommodations
could not be provided
for so many. After all had been quartered
in the neighborhood that
could be, Darius Williams mounted his
horse and rode up,
singing, with great spirit and power:
" 'I'm happy, I'm happy; O wondrous account!
My joys are immortal; I stand on the mount;
I gaze on my treasure and long to be there,
With angels, my kindred, and Jesus my dear.'
"When he had
concluded the verse he said: 'I've got a house
that will hold forty,
and a heart that will hold a hundred; all who
want places follow me!'
and as he rode off a large train followed
him. As the company
arrived his good wife had half a barrel of
potpie smoking, which she
had cooked in a large iron kettle. The
potpie, and other things
on the same scale, supplied the company
with a plentiful dinner.
The table was cleared away, and then
came on the singing, and
praying, and shouting. The sound of
that old-fashioned quarterly
prayer meeting rolled up the side of
Ross Hill and sent its
echo across the river, and was reechoed
from the Wilkes-Barre
Mountain. It was a holy season and a
glorious triumph. Late
in the evening the men went to their
lodgings in the barn,
singing and shouting, and the women spread
down beds on the floor,
and when sufficiently free from excite-
ment fell asleep. On
Sabbath morning the love feast was one of
the old sort. Speaking,
rejoicing, singing, and shouting — each
866 Wyoming Conference
occupied a place. The
whole mass was in a blaze, and great and
amazing was the triumph
of the happy and entranced multitude.
That was one of the good
old times never to be forgotten."
This church is kept in a
good state of preservation, and is used
only occasionally for a
funeral. It was one of the preaching
places on the Wyoming
Circuit. For some years Forty Fort was
a part of Kingston
charge.
Forty Fort charge was
organized in 1871, and included Forty
Fort and Luzerne, the
pastor living at Luzerne.
On December 21, 1871,
John S. Pettebone, of Kingston, sold
to J. C. Tyrell, James
Pettebone, and Jacob Struck, the building
committee of Forty Fort
Methodist Episcopal Church, the church
INTERIOR OF OLD CHURCH, FORTY FORT [photo]
lot for $800, on
contract, the purchase price to be paid before
December 21, 1881, with
interest. On December 30, 1872, he
gave the society a deed
for the lot. "The Methodist Episcopal
Church of Forty
Fort" was incorporated on November 20, 1872,
with Joseph Smith, Adam
Heitz, John S. Pettebone, A. B. Tyrell,
S. A. Barber, and Isaac
Trips trustees. The church was dedi-
cated on July 5, 1875,
costing $3,200. Rev. R. Nelson, D.D.,
preached the dedicatory
sermon.
In 1886 the lot
adjoining the church was purchased of E. H.
Snowden for $1,500, the
deed for which was executed on Feb-
ruary 15, 1889. A
parsonage was built costing $1,603, and the
church was rebuilt at a cost
of $7,926, both built the same year.
The church was dedicated
on Tuesday, October 18, 1887. Rev.
William Searls, D.D.,
preached in the morning and Rev. A. H.
Glen Lyon, Pa. 867
Turtle, D.D., in the
evening. A total of $4,200 was raised during
the day. During the time
the church was being built the society
worshiped in the church
built by the Hon. John B. Smith for the
Christians.
This society has had a
vigorous growth.
NEW CHURCH, FORTY FORT [photo]
Pastorates
1871, H. Trethowan; 1872,
W. J. Hill; 1873-74, J. Madison;
1875, J. F. Wilbur;
1876, J. Underwood; 1877-79, J. La Bar;
1880-82, J. S. Lewis;
1883-85, George Greenfield; 1886-88, F. A.
Chapman; 1889-93, W. R.
Netherton; 1894-95, L. E. Van
Hoesen; 1896-96J4, F. A.
Chapman; 1896½-1900, E. V. Arm-
strong; 1901-03, B. P.
Ripley.
Glen Lyon, Pa.
Before becoming an
appointment in 1894 Glen Lyon formed a
part of Wanamie charge.
The society first worshiped in a red
schoolhouse, located on
what is now Market Street, not far from
what is known as the old
Morgan property. In 1888 John Hill
and Thomas Morgan,
leaders in the society, secured from the Sus-
868 Wyoming Conference
quehanna Coal Company,
as a gift, the lot on which the church
stands, on condition
that it be used solely for a place of worship
by the Methodist
Episcopal Church. The church was erected in
1888 at a cost of
$2,000, and dedicated on July 22, 1888, by Rev.
R. W. Van Schoick. The
Rev. H. M. Crydenwise preached both
morning and evening.
During the day $1,255 was raised. The
church is 30x50 feet,
with a basement fitted for Sunday school
and social work.
The lot for the
parsonage, adjoining the church, was given the
society by the
Susquehanna Coal Company, and the parsonage
was built in 1901,
costing $1,500. The church and parsonage are
lighted by electricity.
Glen Lyon was formerly
called "Morgantown."
Pastorates
1894, G. M. Chamberlain;
1895, J. S. Lewis; 1896, J. H.
Brunges; 1897-98, G. S. Connell;
1899-1900, W. L Andrews;
1901-02, G. A.
Warburton; 1903, J. E. Bone.
Kingston, Pa.
In the spring of 1788,
under the labors of Anning Owen, a
revival broke out at
Ross Hill, in what is now Edwardsville. The
meetings were held in
the house of Captain Ebenezer Parish,
which was located just
east of the present High School building.
Just after the revival
Mr. Owen organized the first class in
Wyoming Valley, which
included Anning Owen and wife, Mr.
Gray and wife, Stephen
Baker and wife, Abram Adams, Mrs.
Wooley and Nancy Wooley;
subsequently Mrs. Ruth Pierce,
Alice and Hannah Pierce,
Samuel Carver and his father, Darius
Williams and wife,
Ebenezer Parish and wife, Joseph Brown,
Mrs. Deborah Bedford,
and Benjamin Carpenter. Speaking of
the services of those
days, Mrs. Bedford said, "Father Owen
hammered away for us,
and we did very well. We were all happy
in God, and not very
particular."
The class was not
recognized as an appointment until 1791,
when it became a part of
the newly formed Wyoming Circuit,
where it remained until
Kingston charge was created in 1840.
However, the class was
visited in 1789 by Rev. Nathaniel Mills,
pastor of Newburg
Circuit, and by his successor in 1790. During
1791 the first quarterly
meeting was held in Captain Parish's
barn, and was "a
season of great refreshing and solemn con-
sciousness of the
presence of the Lord."
William Colbert's
journal of Sunday, October 27, 1793, has the
Kingston, Pa. 869
following: "This
morning held a love feast, preached at Squire
Myers's. Brother Paynter
preached on Matt, x, 32, 33. After
him I preached from Luke
xxii, 19, and administered the Lord's
Supper; Brother Owen
assisted. Brothers Paynter and Turck
exhorted
powerfully." Dr. Peck says these labors were within a
few rods of the site of
the Methodist church and the Wyoming
Seminary. "The
place is now (1860) occupied by the descend-
ants of the man Mr.
Colbert frequently mentions, and calls 'my
KINGSTON CHURCH [photo]
friend Abram
Goodwin.'" On December 2 Mr. Colbert is at
Stephen Baker's, in
Kingston, where he preached and Brother
Turck formed four bands.
Baker lived on the old road between
Forty Fort and
Wilkes-Barre, on what is now (1860) called
the Church place. This
was thenceforth a place of resort and
rest for the preachers,
and frequently a preaching place."
The first house of
worship owned by the Methodists of Kings-
ton was a small building
located just north of the present Main
Street school building,
and called the "Class Room." In 1841
the first church was
erected near the present site and facing east-
ward. It was 36x50 feet,
and cost $2,300, which was fully pro-
vided for and the
building "dedicated without encumbering
870 Wyoming Conference
debts." The building
committee were Madison Myers, Thomas
Pringle, and William
Hancock, who were the trustees at the time.
The site was deeded to
the society on February 24, 1841, in con-
sideration of $300, by
Thomas Myers and wife. About 1865 the
church was enlarged by
the addition of 27 feet to its length, the
interior being remodeled
at the same time. A new sexton had
been hired, and during
his first day's service a fire broke out in
one of the storerooms,
and the church burned to the ground on
Saturday evening, February
10, 1872. The corner stone of the
present church was laid
on August 19, 1872. The building is
65x80, built of brick,
and cost $56,500, including additional lot,
organ, sidewalks, etc.
Prior to the day of dedication, Wednesday,
May 20, 1874, $25,000
had been raised, leaving $31,500 to be pro-
vided for on that day.
Rev. W. P. Abbott preached in the morn-
ing from Rev. vi, 2,
after which Rev. B. I. Ives raised $32,000.
Mr. Ives preached in the
evening, and at the close of his sermon
solicited funds until a
total of $35,000 was reached. Dr. Nelson
conducted the dedicatory
service. The building committee at
this time were A. J.
Pringle, R. Nelson, D.D., and Abram Nesbitt.
The presiding elder in
his report of 1886 says: "Much intense
solicitude has been
felt, and no small amount of fear, lest Kings-
ton Methodism would
suffer serious damage before the debt was
removed. A Romish priest
said but a few months ago, 'We will
have the Methodist
church in Kingston before long.' They did
not get it. The work of
redemption was consummated last Sab-
bath, April 2, led by
the pastor, who was ably assisted by a band
of heroic, devoted
brethren. The amount needed to meet the
indebtedness fully was
most cheerfully contributed by the congre-
gation and friends of
the church ($13,000), has been secured, and
the church is
free."
In 1897-98 the interior
of the church was extensively improved,
and a three-manual pipe
organ purchased, at a total cost of
$10,000, which was fully
provided for on the day of reopening.
The building committee
at this time were Abram Nesbitt, P. M.
Carhart, W. P. Billings,
and Rev. L. C. Murdock.
The parsonage was built
in 1871, and cost about $6,000.
Larksville and Dorranceton societies are children of
the Kings-
ton church.
The church has two
perpetual policies of insurance, amount-
ing to $20,000, the gift
of the late George Nesbitt.
The society has enjoyed
a number of very gracious revival
seasons.
Lackawanna, Pa. 871
The charge was known as
Wyoming from 1840 to 1855, and
took the name of
Kingston in 1856. From 1850 to 1853 New
Troy (Wyoming) was associated
with it. In 1860 Kingston
and Wyoming were united
under the name of New Troy and
Kingston, and in 1861
the name was changed to Wyoming and
Kingston. In 1864 the
charge was divided, since which time
each point has been a
charge.
Forty Fort was with this
charge in 1848.
Pastorates
1840-41, John B. Benham;
1842-43, L. S. Bennett, W. Reddy;
1844-45, P- G. White;
1846, F. Humphries; 1847, T. H. Pearne;
1848, E. P. WilHams, B.
Hawley; 1849, H. R. Clarke; 1850, A.
Bronson, B. W. Gorham;
1851, C. H. Harvey; 1852, T. D.
Walker; 1853, T. D.
Walker, L. D. Tryon; 1854, C. W. Giddings,
G. M. Peck; 1855, S. S.
Kennedy; 1856, W. W. Welch; 1857,
C. Perkins; 1858, S. S.
Kennedy; 1859, C. Perkins, Y. C. Smith;
1860, A. Brooks, W. J. Judd;
1861, W. J. Judd; 1862-63, L. Cole;
1864-66, B. D.
Sturdevant; 1867-69, I. T. Walker; 1870-72, G. R.
Hair; 1873, H. V.
Talbot; 1874-75, P. Krohn; 1876-78, H.
Wheeler; 1879-80, O. W.
Scott; 1881-82, J. O. Woodruff; 1883-
84, R. W. Van Schoick;
1885-86, A. Griffin; 1887-91, J. G.
Eckman; 1892-96, H. C.
McDermott; 1897-1903, L. C. Murdock.
Lackawanna, Pa.
"The early
Methodists held their meetings, in what is now
Marcy township, in a log
schoolhouse which stood on the lot
where the present schoolhouse
stands, on the township line near
the brick church."
It is believed a class was formed here as early
as 1815, Ebenezer and
Jonathan Marcy being among the original
members.
In 1842 the class was a
part of Pittston Circuit, and at that
time contained thirteen
members. In 1843 Lackawanna appears
among the appointments,
and continues until 1848, when it dis-
appears, probably
becoming a part of Pittston Circuit again. In
1856 it reappears, the
circuit including the Lackawanna class
and Hyde Park, and all
the territory lying between.
Hyde Park was cut off
early in the sixties, Taylorville in 1876,
Avoca in 1880, Rendham
in 1891, Moosic in 1896, and Old Forge
in 1898.
The society at
Lackawanna worshiped in the schoolhouse many
years. The site for the
church and parsonage was purchased of
872 Wyoming Conference
Ebenezer Marcy for a
nominal sum. The church, which is of
brick, is 40x60, and was
built in 1852-53, costing $2,000, and was
dedicated in August,
1853. In 1875-76 $1,200 was spent in re-
pairs, the steeple being
built at this time. After expending $900
for carpets, altar,
pulpit furniture, and other repairs the church
was reopened on January
4, 1885, by Rev. A. Griffin, assisted by
Rev. H. H. Dresser. In
1899 $2,000 was spent in constructing
a new basement, purchasing
new pews, furnace, organ, carpets.
LACKAWANNA CHURCH AND PARSONAGE [photo]
etc. At the watch-night
service of 1901 a fifteen-hundred-dol-
lar mortgage was burned.
This society has been
familiarly called the "Brick Church"
many years. A very
interesting "Twentieth Century Home Gath-
ering" service was
held on Tuesday, March 5, 1901. About this
time $1,000 was raised
to apply on indebtedness.
The parsonage was built
about 1867.
Pastorates
1843, Epenetus Owen; 1844,
Ira Wilcox, J. D. Safford; 1845,
E. B. Tenny; 1846, John
Mulkey; 1847, J- Mulkey, Z. Kellog-g;
1848-55, with Pittston;
1856, F. Illman; 1857-58, J. S. Lewis;
Lehman, Pa. 873
1859-60, S. S. Barter;
1861, N. W. Everett, J. T. Crowell; 1862,
T. D. Swartz; 1863, J.
S. Lewis; 1864-65, Isaac Austin; 1866-68,
R. S. Rose; 1869-71, J.
C. Leacock; 1872-74, J. La Bar; 1875-76,
J. Madison; 1877-79, J-
R- Wagner; 1880, N. J. Hawley; 1881-83,
S. Elwell; 1884-86, L N.
Shipman; 1887-88, F. A. King; 1889-
90, J. R. Angel;
1891-94, J. L. Race; 1895-98, E. L. Santee;
1899-1900, G. F. Ace;
1901, H. A. Green; 1902-03, G. C. Jacobs.
From 1843-47 this was
the old Pittston Circuit called Lacka-
wanna.
Lehman, Pa.
Methodism sent its
preachers into this territory as early as
1824; according to Major
Case, before 1820. Lehman Circuit
lies among the hills,
about eleven miles from Wilkes-Barre and
ten to twelve miles east
of the North Mountains, in an exception-
ally healthful locality.
The circuit in early days was a part of
Wyoming Circuit, and subsequently
a part of Northmoreland
Circuit (see
Centermoreland), and was formed into a charge in
1852. Lehman Circuit
formerly comprised much more territory
than at present. In 1867
the circuit had eleven preaching places.
Maple Grove Circuit was
taken from Lehman Circuit in 1877.
The site for the Lehman
church was purchased of William
Major for $100, and
contains about one half acre. A parsonage
was built on the lot in
1852-53, costing between $1,100 and $1,200.
The church was built in 1856,
costing $1,500, and dedicated on
Tuesday, November 25, of
that year. After an expenditure of
$1,000 the church was
reopened on Sunday, August 11, 1872,
Rev. A. H. Wyatt
preaching from Acts v, 20. During the day
$253 was raised to fully
provide for the improvements. After
spending $1,800 in
enlarging and modernizing the church, pur-
chasing a bell, and
building new sheds, the church was reopened
on February 24, 1893,
Rev. M. S. Hard, D.D., preaching the
dedicatory sermon. Among
the improvements were an alcove
for the pulpit, circular
pews, which cost $300, the gift of A. D.
Hay and C. H. Major, and
a commodious Sunday school room.
The lot for the present
parsonage was purchased in 1899 from
Mrs. Charrie Worthington
for $200, and a house built the same
season costing $2,000.
It has modern improvements, and is an
attractive house.
Levi Rice is the oldest
member of this society. Mrs. William
Major is superintendent
of the Sunday school, and William R.
Neely the class leader.
The present board of
stewards are: Lehman, A. D. Hay, Frank
874 Wyoming Conference
Searfoss, James
Hildebrandt, W. R. Neeley, T. A. Brown; Ide
Town, Frank Ide, Harry
Ide, Burton Ide, Ellis Ide, E. E. Allen;
Jackson, Ziba Smith,
Charles Ehret, Douglass Case, and Leonidas
Case.
Ide Town society was organized
about 1865, and is situated
three miles north of
Lehman. A lot containing sixty-seven and
a half perches was
purchased of Mrs. Mary Oliver, on May 18,
1893, for $100. The
church and sheds cost $2,150, and the
church was dedicated on
Thursday, December 7, 1893, by Rev.
J. G. Eckman. The sum of
$650 was raised at the time to fully
provide for the cost.
Solomon Ide, now eighty-five years of age,
is the oldest member at
this point, and gave $250 toward the
enterprise. Frank Ide is
the class leader. From eighty to ninety
attend class regularly,
and from thirty to fifty the prayer meeting.
Adelbert Husted is the
Sunday school superintendent.
Jackson is about four miles
south of Lehman. The site for the
church was given by
Wilbur Rice, and the church, costing $1,500,
was built in 1883.
Toward this enterprise Ziba Smith gave $300,
Wilbur Rice $100, I. H.
Hale $100, and among those who gave
smaller amounts, yet
liberally, were Thomas Atkinson, James
Nelson, Major Case, and
Charles Ehret. The church was re-
painted and sheds built
in 1893 at a cost of $300.
Major Case, the oldest
member at Jackson, thinks Methodism
was introduced into this
section before 1820. He recalls the visit
of Rev. H. F. Rowe to
the place, which occurred when he was but
a small boy. The
Lameraux class was formed in the lower part
of Jackson, and
subsequently the De Forest class in the upper
part of Jackson. These
classes were united about the time the
church was built. There
is a tradition among the older members
that Father Davey, in
early days, refused admission to love feast
to those who wore
feathers or jewelry. He acted as doorkeeper,
and requested such to
repair to another place and remove the
evidences of worldliness.
This society has been
visited by many very gracious and ex-
tensive revivals.
Ziba Smith is the Sunday
school superintendent.
Pastorates
1852, C. Perkins; 1853,
F. Illman, L. Cole; 1854, W. Smith;
1855-56, G. L. Griffing;
1857-58, P. Holbrook; 1859-60, J. S.
Lewis; 1861-62, J. G.
Eckman; 1863-64, D. Personeus; 1865-66,
Luzerne, Pa. 875
G. Greenfield; 1867-68,
J. C. Leacock; 1869-71, Isaac Austin;
1872, F. A. King, P. M.
Mott; 1873, F- A. King, J. T. Burrall;
1874, F. A. King, C. W.
Sartell; 1875, J B. Santee, I. B. Wilson;
1876, R. C. Gill, I. B.
Wilson; 1877, R. C. Gill; 1878-80, D.
Larish; 1881, W. Shelp;
1882-84, C. H. Sackett; 1885, N. M.
Bailey; 1886-88, P. M.
Mott; 1889-90, J. L. Race; 1891, Isaac
Jenkins; 1892-94, J. R. Wagner;
1895-97, J. Benninger; 1898,
A. Wrigley; 1899-1900,
H. D. Smith; 1901, W. T. Blair; 1902,
A. David; 1903, J.
Brundle.
Luzerne, Pa.
Luzerne was called
"Mill Hollow" for some time, and it is
claimed that a class
existed here as early as 1825, which met in
the old schoolhouse on
the island, where meetings were held some
time. In 1873 Mill
Hollow formed a part of Forty Fort charge,
meetings being held in
the afternoon. In 1883 the place became
a charge and appeared in
the appointments.
"The Methodist
Episcopal Church of Mill Hollow" became in-
LUZERNE CHURCH [photo]
corporated on February
3, 1874, with S. D. Fisk, James Thomas,
Thomas Reese, Joseph
Welter, Charles Lapha, Daniel Harris,
John Matthews, John Bartholomew,
and George H. Rice trustees.
The site for the church
was given the society by Mrs. Sarah
S. Bennett, widow of
Charles Bennett, of Wilkes-Barre, and was
deeded to the society on
August 6, 1874. The church was erected
on contract by S. W. Bennett,
and cost about $4,000. It was
876 Wyoming Conference
dedicated on July 5,
1874. Rev. R. Nelson preached in the
morning and Rev. P.
Krohn in the evening. A total of $2,550
was raised during the
day, enough to fully provide for the church
and $300 to apply on the
parsonage lots belonging to the Forty
Fort charge. The Wyoming
Trio added to the pleasure of the
day.
On March 16, 1884, the
church was reopened, after an ex-
penditure of $4,470, in
enlarging and improving the building.
Rev. H. A. Buttz preached
in the morning and afternoon and
Rev. S. C. Fulton in the
evening. Rev. A. Griffin had charge of
the finances. The sum of
$3,200 was raised during the day. The
young people of the
church gave the pulpit furniture, and the
Ladies' Aid Society the
carpet. Tuesday, March 16, 1886, was
a jubilee day. Hard
times had caused a shrinkage in dedicatory
subscriptions, and it
was necessary to raise a deficit at this time.
Revs. R. W. Van Schoick
and A. Griffin were present and made
addresses. The services
closed with great rejoicing, and the debt
fully provided for.
The bell was purchased
in 1893. The church was again re-
built in 1896, doubling
the seating capacity, at a cost of $4,000.
Mr. J. L. Crawford bore
one tenth of the expense, and Mrs. P.
L. Bennett, Miss Martha
Bennett, Mrs. P. Pettebone, Mrs. Dick-
son, Mrs. Derr, and Mrs.
R. Nelson helped liberally. The church
was reopened on January
29, 1897. Rev. W. H. Pearce, D.D.,
preached the dedicatory
sermon, and Rev. J. G. Eckman, D.D.,
conducted the dedicatory
service. The pipe organ was purchased
in 1899.
The parsonage was bought
on August 24, 1886, of Michael
Lapha for $2,135. In
1888 $1,000 was raised to apply on the
parsonage debt and the
balance in 1899. In the fall of 1902 the
parsonage was thoroughly
modernized and a Brussels carpet laid
in the church, the whole
costing $1,500.
In January and February,
1894, a revival swept the whole com-
munity, in which there
were over two hundred conversions and
one hundred and fifty-five
accessions to the church. There have
been other ingatherings,
but none so extensive as this.
Pastorates
1883-85, H. B. Johnson;
1886, W. H. Turkington; 1887-88,
Jonas Underwood;
1889-93, F- A. King; 1894-95, J. F. Williams;
1896-98, J. R. Wagner; 1899-1902,
W. A. Wagner; 1903, C. B.
Henry. W. A. Wagner left
in the middle of 1902, and C. B.
Henry began his work
soon after.
Maple Grove, Pa. 877
Maple Grove, Pa.
The early history of
this circuit is with Lehman Circuit, of
which it formed a part
prior to becoming a charge in 1877.
John Baird in his will
directed the giving of a lot to the society
for a church.
Accordingly, on January 5, 1872, in consideration
of $1, Simeon Lewis and
wife Sarah deeded the society the site
for the church. The
trustees at the time were W. H. Edwards,
Joel Roberts, William
White, J. W. Matthews, Albert S. Steel,
Hiram Steel, Isaac B.
Wilson, F. W. Kindred, Jonah R. Bron-
son. On January 24,
1873, the society became incorporated as
"The Maple Grove
Methodist Episcopal Church," with the trus-
tees the same as above,
with one exception — E. B. Mott took the
place of William White.
The church, which cost about $2,000,
was dedicated on
December 20, 1872. After expending $600 in
repairs the building was
reopened on September 25, 1903, by Rev.
A. Griffin, D.D.
The parsonage is located
at Maple Grove, and was built in
1879, costing $1,200.
The society is about to
build a hall for public use, and some
sheds.
F. W. Kindred has been a
trustee of this society thirty-six
years, and is still
serving in that capacity.
Mooretown, known
also as Retreat, received its building site as
a gift from Archibald
Moore. The land reverts to the giver
should it at any time
cease to be used by the Methodists for re-
ligious purposes. The
church, which cost $2,000, and is now
valued at $1,200, was
dedicated on Wednesday evening, October
20, 1875. Rev. G. R.
Hair preached the dedicatory sermon, after
which the cost of the
building was provided for.
Ruggles church is five miles
southeast of Maple Grove. John
J. Shonk gave the
building site, and the church, which cost $1,200,
was erected in 1874.
After expending $250 in repairs the church
was reopened on December
30, 1885.
Loyalville, also called
Chestnut Grove, is three miles south-
east of Maple Grove, and
is sometimes called the Allen appoint-
ment. The church, which
cost $1,400, was built on land donated
by Henry Randalls, and
was dedicated in the fall of 1885. It is
now being repaired at a
probable cost of $500.
Meeker is a schoolhouse
appointment two miles east of Maple
Grove.
878 Wyoming Conference
Pastorates
1877, I. B. Wilson;
1878-80, P. Houck; 1881-83, G. W. Leach;
1884-86, G. F. Ace; 1887-88,
J. W. Harrison; 1889-90, W. Raw-
lings; 1891-93, J. W.
Price; 1894-97, F. D. Cornell; 1898, J. A.
Transue; 1899-1900, T.
J. Vaughn; 1901-02, H. G. Harned;
1903, W. H. Craig.
Moosic, Pa.
Work here was organized
on February 9, 1892, at the home of
Frank L. Mostello, when
a Ladies' Aid Society was formed,
electing the following
officers: Mrs. F. L. Mostello, president;
Mrs. George Tregellas
and Mrs. M. H. Edsal, vice presidents;
Mrs. E. C. Berlew,
secretary; Mrs. C. S. Snyder, assistant secre-
tary; Mrs. William
Lieberheim, treasurer. This was under the
MOOSIC CHURCH AND PARSONAGE [photo]
direction of the pastor
of Lackawanna, who preached for a time
in the Welsh church.
Being refused further use of this, cottage
prayer meetings were
held at private houses until the church
was built.
"The First
Methodist Episcopal Church of Moosic" was in-
corporated on December
19, 1892, that is, the court granted the
charter on that date,
with C. D. Snyder, F. J. Schoonover, E. H.
Berlew, J. A. La Bar,
William M. Westcott, Harvey Jacques,
and F. L. Mostello
trustees.
Through the kindness of
S. Judson Stark, the heirs of Samuel
Stark gave the society a
lot 75x150 feet. The corner stone of the
church was laid on July
22, 1893, by Rev. J. G. Eckman, Rev.
Moosic, Pa. 879
W. H. Pearce mal<ing
the address of the day. The church,
which cost $3,500, was
dedicated on September 16, 1894. Rev.
J. G. Eckman preached in
the morning. Rev. J. B. Sweet in the
afternoon, and Rev. J.
H. Race in the evening. Mrs. P. Pette-
bone presented the
society with the bell. One thousand dollars
was raised during the
day.
The parsonage was built
in 1899 beside the church, a strip of
land having been leased
of the Spring Brook Water and Supply
Company, so as to secure
room for the house. The building
cost $1,028.66 in cash,
besides a great deal of labor donated by
members and friends of
the church, among the latter being
several Catholics.
During the year $500 was raised, and the
balance, $528.66, was
borrowed. The pastor moved into the
parsonage on November
22, 1899.
A debt of $1,000 remained
on the church, which with the
parsonage debt made a
total indebtedness of $1,528.66 in the
spring of 1900. In 1900
the indebtedness was reduced to $1,080,
and in 1901 to $300.
Emmet Broadhead has been
Sunday school superintendent and
Edward Miller class
leader since the society was organized.
Revival work in 1898 and
1899 greatly strengthened the
society.
The Ladies' Aid Society
has been an important factor in the
work of the church from
the beginning.
The society formed a part
of Lackawanna charge until it
became an appointment in
1896.
The flood of October 9
and 10, 1903, damaged the property
greatly, carrying away a
large part of its lawn, and some of the
wall on the rear side of
the church. It is estimated that it will
cost $2,000 to restore
the property to its former condition.
Pastorates
1896, J. S. Lewis;
1897-98, John Humphrey; 1899-1902, J. N.
Bailey; 1903, W. A.
Edwards. In August, 1902, J. N. Bailey
was transferred West and
W. A. Edwards transferred in to take
his place.
Mountain Top, Pa.
Mountain Top formed a
part of Newport Circuit (see Askam),
and in 1872, together
with Rippletown, Stairville, and Slocum,
was formed into a
circuit. In 1880 Rippletown, Stairville, and
Slocum were taken from Mountain
Top and added to the
Wapwallopen charge in
the Central Pennsylvania Conference.
880 Wyoming Conference
"The Methodist
Episcopal Church of Mountain Top" became
incorporated on April
26, 1880, with Eleazer Carey, Robert H.
Nicholas, John W. Houck,
Charles D. Clarke, and Daniel
Messenger trustees. The
lot for the church was deeded to the
society by the Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Company on June
28, 1881, and the lot
for the parsonage on April 2, 1894. The
church was built in 1881,
after one of the Church Extension
plans, and cost about
$1,600. It was dedicated on Thursday,
November 24
(Thanksgiving Day), 1881. Rev. A. Griffin
preached the dedicatory
sermon from Matt, xxvi, 6-13, after
which he raised $600.
The parsonage was
erected in 1887, costing $1,000, and in the
same year the church
bell was purchased and some repairs made
on the church costing
$300.
Sugar Notch was with
this charge for a while.
Revivals have been
characteristic of almost every pastorate.
Pastorates
1872-73, J. R. Wagner;
1874, J. T. Burrall; 1875, W. Treible;
1876, J. H. Ruggles;
1877, W. Edgar; 1878, J. A. Transue; 1879,
J. Underwood; 1880-81,
with Ashley; 1882, T. Harris; 1883,
W. A. Davies; 1884-86, J.
W. Harrison; 1887-89, J. C. Hogan;
1890, E. W. Thomson;
1891-92, W. H. McCauley; 1893-95,
L. E. Sanford; 1896-97,
P. Houck; 1898-1901, T. M. Furey;
1902-03, G. S. Connell.
Nanticoke, Pa.
It is believed that a
class was formed here about 1812, com-
posed of David and Susan
Thompson, Martha and Priscilla Lee,
Mary Miller, Richard
Keithline, Hannah E. Stiles, James and
William Thompson, and
Elizabeth Mills. The log houses of the
early settlers furnished
a place of meeting until a log schoolhouse
was built. The class
worshiped in this until the union church
was built in 1830. This
church was built on the site of the
schoolhouse, the
basement being used for school purposes and the
upper part for church
purposes. It was 24x36, with no gallery,
and the entrance was in
the rear of the building. The church
was particularly to be
used by the Methodists and Presbyterians;
however, other orthodox
denominations might use it at such
hours as would not
interfere with the societies named. The lot
was deeded to David
Thompson, James Lee, Henry Linn, Silax
Alexander, Washington
Lee, and others.
From 1861 to 1874
inclusive the society worshiped in the
Nanticoke, Pa. 881
Presbyterian church, and
in 1875 and part of 1876 in Snyder
Hall. "The
Methodist Episcopal Church of Nanticoke" was
incorporated on December
13, 1875, with Thomas Hill, George
O. Williams, John
Puckey, John Letcher, and Luther Curtis
trustees.
The site for the church
was donated the society by the Susque-
hanna Coal Company, and
the corner stone of the church laid in
1876 by Rev. G. R. Hair,
assisted by Rev. T. C. Roskelly. In
the latter part of 1876
the basement was completed so that the
society used it for
church purposes. The church was not com-
pleted until early in
1880, when it was dedicated on March 5 by
NANTICOKE CHURCH [photo]
Bishop Thomas Bowman.
The building seated four hundred
and fifty people, and
cost about $4,500.
In 1886 $1,000 was
expended in decorating and refitting the
interior of the church.
After an outlay of
$5,000 in thoroughly modernizing the
church, recarpeting,
installing electric lights, and making other
improvements, it was
reopened on January 22, 1893. Rev. W. H.
Pearce, D.D., preached
in the morning and Rey. M. S. Hard,
D.D., in the evening.
The building, in connection with the par-
sonage, was again
renovated, repaired, and decorated in 1901 at
a cost of $3,326, and
was reopened on Sunday, January 5, 1902.
Rev. A. Griffin, D.D.,
preached in the morning and Rev. J. H.
882 Wyoming Conference
Bickford in the evening.
A total of $1,500 was raised during
the day.
The parsonage was built
in 1877, and enlarged in 1879, and
again in 1881 at a cost
of $800.
In 1883 a $2,000
mortgage was paid. In raising funds for
this purpose the pastor
visited a number of churches, solicited
aid, and received it
liberally. In 1885 $400, and in 1886 $1,000
was paid on
indebtedness.
This place formed a part
of Newport and Hanover Circuits.
It and West Nanticoke
were cut off and constituted a charge in
1875. In 1887 West
Nanticoke became a charge.
This church was a party to
one of the rare events in our
Conference history. Its
pastor. Rev. D. C. Olmstead, died
October 12, 1888, and
Rev. William Bixby, a superannuate
seventy-five years old,
was sent to fill out the year. Such satis-
faction was given that
the church asked that he be made effective
and appointed as its
pastor in 1889, which was done. He did not
live, however, to
complete the year, dying in December, 1889.
Rev. G. M. Peck filled
out the year.
This church has
experienced many revival seasons.
In 1874 Rev. G. M.
Colville served this place and West Nan-
ticoke, the latter place
being named in the Minutes as the
appointment.
Pastorates
1875, A. W. Hood;
1876-78, T. C. Roskelly; 1879, Levi Jenni-
son; 1880, W. Treible; 1881-83,
W. J. Hill; 1884, F. Gendall;
1885-86, G. C. Lyman;
1887-88½, D. C. Olmstead; 1888½-89½,
William Bixby; 188936,
balance of year, G. M. Peck; 1890-94,
George Forsyth; 1895-96,
J. B. Sumner; 1897-98, C. M. Surdam;
1899-1901, J. Bradshaw;
1902-03, L. C. Floyd.
NOXEN, Pa.
The appointments on this
charge were a part of the Center-
moreland Circuit prior
to their becoming a charge in 1895. The
Noxen society had its
origin in a class formed on Bowman's
Creek some time prior to
1840. In these early days the society
was ministered to by
Oliver Lewis, Abraham Frear, and James
Phoenix, faithful local
preachers. The first society was formed
in an old log
schoolhouse, and afterward the services were moved
to the "red
schoolhouse," about one and a half miles from Noxen.
In 1861 the
Centermoreland pastor held services in this school-
house biweekly on a
week-day evening. In 1883 the services were
Stull, Pa. 883
moved, by vote of the
congregation, to the "little white school-
house" in Noxen.
During the year a subscription was circulated
for the building of a
church. The lot was purchased of David H.
Montanye for $100. The
church, which cost $1,000, was dedi-
cated in December, 1886.
In 1899 the church was reseated and
refurnished.
Revivals in 1897, 1898,
and 1900 have greatly strengthened
this society.
Stull. Rev. James Phoenix, a
local preacher, as long ago as
the seventies, used to
preach in the little old schoolhouse which
stood in front of where
the present school building stands.
The building was rude,
without paint or plaster, and the seats
were hemlock benches.
Mr. Phcenix served without remunera-
tion, and lived below
Noxen, on the farm now occupied by his
son Clarence. When he became
too feeble to preach the society
had no preaching from a
Methodist Episcopal preacher for a
long time. The
Protestant Methodists then began holding
services, first in the
little old schoolhouse, then in the white
schoolhouse, and
subsequently in the present schoolhouse. In
1892 the Protestant
Methodist pastor. Rev. Joseph Anderson,
was not faithful to his
duties, and there was no preaching at all
here for several months.
In the spring of that year, through the
influence of Mrs. B. M.
Stone, the Centermoreland pastor went
to Stull and preached
several times. Finding that he could not
well attend to this
addition to his work, he sent Mr. J. H.
Brunges, who was
teaching at Centermoreland, to take care of
this work, preaching on
Sundays. In the winter of that year
Rev. W. R. Cochrane
conducted a revival here with good results.
The few members of the
Noxen class who lived at Stull trans-
ferred their membership
to the Stull class. These, with the new
converts, constituted
the first class in Stull.
Through Mrs. B. M. Stone
a Ladies' Aid Society was or-
ganized for the purpose
of conserving the work. Some money
was raised by the
society, and a desire for a church began to be
felt. This, however, was
in the early part of 1892. The ladies
Jiad deposited $100 in
the Rockafellow Bank of Wilkes-Barre, and
in its failure lost the
$100. This somewhat discouraged the
society. After a while
some more funds accumulated, part of
which was used to
purchase an organ and the Bible now in use
on the pulpit. Rev. C.
D. Skinner, a student at Wyoming
Seminary, served this
people in 1893-94, receiving $100 per
year.
884 Wyoming Conference
The church was dedicated
on October 29, 1899. Rev. A.
Griffin, D.D., preached
in the morning from 2 Chron. vi, 18;
Rev. W. R. Cochrane in
the afternoon from John iii, 13, 14; and
Rev. C. B. Henry in the
evening from Mark iv, 28. The lot was
a gift from the A. Lewis
Lumber Company, who built the church
and contributed largely
to the success of the enterprise. The
cash outlay was $700,
$117 of which was raised on the day
of dedication. The
building committee consisted of Edward
Transue, Jr., Frank
Britton, Charles Deubler, and William
Austin.
The parsonage was bought
in 1898, to be paid for in install-
ments.
Revival work in 1895 and
1897 added strength to the society.
There has been a Sunday
school here since early in the seven-
ties, though it did not
continue through the year until 1891.
Pastorates
1895-96, John Humphrey;
1897, E. B. Singer; 1898-99, Harry
Kelly; 1900-02, A. H.
Brink; 1903, P. M. Mott.
Old Forge, Pa.
This society formed a
part of the Lackawanna charge until it
became a charge in 1898.
The lots for the church
were secured from E. Drake, of Old
Forge, who sold the society
one lot and donated the other. Mr.
Drake contributed in
many ways to the success of the church
enterprise. The corner
stone was laid on Friday, April 22, 1892,
at 2 p. M., by Rev. M.
S. Hard, D.D. Revs. B. L Ives and L. C.
Floyd were present and
made addresses. An audience of four
hundred gathered to
witness the laying of the stone. The church,
which cost $3,000, was
dedicated on April 22, 1897. Rev. O. L.
Severson, Ph.D.,
preached in the morning from Hab. iii, 19; Rev.
J. H. Race preached in
the afternoon from I Cor. xi, 14; and Rev.
J. G. Eckman, D.D.,
preached in the evening and conducted the
dedicatory services. The
sum of $859 was raised during the
day. George Safford gave
the pulpit, which he made himself
out of an old historic
tree.
The society was
incorporated on November 17, 1892, with
James Blease, Frederick
Cox, Henry Garbutt, Ebenezer Drake,
Patton Taylor, John A.
Wood, and Isaac Addison trustees.
In 1901 a mine cave-in
underneath the church tore down the
chimney and did
considerable damage.
Parsons, Pa. 885
Pastorates
1898, R. H. Reidy;
1899-1900, S. Davis; 1901, R. H. Reidy;
1902, J. Underwood;
1903, Frank Ruch.
Parsons, Pa.
This society was
organized on June 1, 1872, in the schoolhouse.
The class formed a part
of Plains charge until it became a charge
itself in 1874. The
following persons were constituted a build-
ing committee: Calvin
Parsons, D. W. Kemble, John D. Colvin,
O. C. Barnard, Simon
Decks, F. M. Decks, and Rev. N. J.
Hawley. On July 5, 1872,
Mr. Calvin Parsons gave the
PARSONS CHURCH [photo]
society a lot 50x100
feet on Olive Street. He also gave $1,000
toward the building
fund, and presented the corner stone,
which was laid in
November, 1872. The committee decided to
build a church of wood
44x60 feet, with a bell tower 10x16 feet,
and a basement of stone
and brick. The contract for the base-
ment was given to
Jeremiah Shiffer on July 6, and on October
14, 1872, the contract
for the superstructure was given to Mark
Wilson for $3,765. The
church was not completed at this time,
886 Wyoming Conference
but the basement was
fitted up, and the society began using it for
church work in 1873.
"The Methodist
Episcopal Church of Parsons" was incor-
porated on April 11,
1876, with John D. Colvin, Simon Deeks,
John Anderson, T. M.
Smith, S. W. Franklin, and O. C. Barnard
trustees. On December
30, 1880, the society by action of court
changed its corporate
name to "The Abbott Methodist Episcopal
Church of Parsons,"
in recognition of the fact that Rev. W. P.
Abbott was born near
there. *
A jubilee meeting was
held on January 29, 1882, over can-
celing a
one-thousand-dollar note, held by the Church Extension
Society, with interest,
making a total of $1,190. The amount
was raised and a surplus
of $200.
After ten years of
struggle the auditorium was completed,
costing $1,524, and the
church was dedicated on March 15, 1883.
Revs. C. P. Masden and
Dr. Hodge, of Wilkes-Barre, preached
the sermons of the day. Rev.
A. Griffin managed the finances,
raising $700, enough to
complete the fund desired and to repaint
the church and repair
the basement, and conducted the dedicatory
service.
In 1886 a cyclone took
off the church steeple and otherwise
damaged the building.
The repairs at this time cost $650.
At the time the church
was built the trustees borrowed $800
of Samuel McBride and
gave their note for that amount. Pay-
ments had been made on
it until it was reduced to $600. Rev. H,
Brownscombe collected enough
to cancel the note. When he
went to settle with him
he learned that Mr. McBride had gone
to Europe, and it was
reported that the vessel upon which he
took passage was lost,
and he with it. He was a bachelor without
heirs. The church never
expected to hear from the matter again,
and allowed the money to
be used for other things. Nothing
had been heard from
McBride during fifteen years. One day
in 1891 he appeared at
Parsons with an attorney and demanded
payment on the note,
which now amounted to $1,559. Calvin
Parsons, a Presbyterian
elder, who had been a great friend
to the church, offered
$500 to help the society out of its un-
expected distress, and
before Conference in 1892 the pastor had
secured the total amount,
lacking only $36, which was soon after
raised.
On Wednesday, December
19, 1894, after an expenditure of
$2,500 in repairs, the
church was reopened. Bishop E. G. An-
drews preached in the
afternoon from Matt. xvi, 18, and Rev.
J. S. Breckinridge,
D.D., in the evening from I Cor. xiv, 40.
Pittston, Pa. 887
Revivals have occurred
from time to time which have strength-
ened the society.
The parsonage was
purchased in 1899, and is valued at $1,300.
Pastorates
1874-75, G. M.
Chamberlain; 1876-79, H. Brownscombe;
1880-82, George
Greenfield; 1883-85, E. L. Santee; 1886-87,
Y. C. Smith; 1888-89, S.
J. Austin; 1890-91, H. G. Harned;
1892-96, W. H. Hiller;
1897-1900, F. A. King; 1901, W. M.
Hiller; 1902-03, J. L.
Thomas.
PITTSTON, Pa.
We can do no better than
to quote extensively from a letter
written to the Northern
Christian Advocate on February 12, 1878,
by E. Blackman in his
ninety-first year:
"There was a class
formed in the town of Pittston, which then
extended some ten miles
from southwest to northeast, consisting
of Roger Searle, leader,
Lucy Drake, Mr. Miles and wife, Jared
OLD CHURCH, PITTSTON [photo]
Marcy and wife, Jesse
Gardner and wife, Elizabeth Bennett and
Sarah Collins. [Pittston
was one of the appointments on the
Wyoming Circuit. Work
was opened up here about 1791, and
the class mentioned
above was formed in 1806.] To this were
added by conversion, at
a camp meeting held at the head of the
valley opposite Pittston
in 1809, Clarissa Searle, daughter, and
Mary and Fanny Searle,
nieces, of Roger Searle.
888 Wyoming Conference
"At that time G.
Lane and A. Dawson were on the Wyoming
Circuit, of which
Pittston was a part. Roger Searle died in May,
1813. Jared Marcy and
Jesse Gardner died shortly after, and Mr.
Miles and wife moved
away, as did many others. No class
existed from that time
in what is now East and West Pittston
Boroughs until 1843, of
which I shall hereafter speak; but there
were quite large classes
at Thompson schoolhouse, two miles
below, and Marcy
schoolhouse, two miles above. [It is said
that in 1812 the
Pittston class got into some "confusion," and
John Kimberlin, one of
the preachers on Wyoming Circuit,
burned the class book
and informed the members that they were
all turned out of the
Church, and if any of them would behave
like Christians and
Methodists they might join again. Rev.
George Peck, on August
20, 1818, preached at the home of
Ebenezer Marcy, near the
site of Pittston Borough, and subse-
quently made the Marcy
house a regular preaching place.] It
was at the latter place,
then a part of Pittston Circuit, in Feb-
ruary, 1832, myself and
wife joined the Methodist Episcopal
Church, Rev. Samuel
Griffin being on the charge. We then re-
sided in what is now
Taylorville, two miles above, where my wife
died in the triumphs of
faith, December 4, 1833.
"In the month of
January, 1834, I returned to Pittston. I was
the only male member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church in the
present territory of
East and West Pittston. Betsy Brown and
her orphan girl, Lizzie
Fell, were the female members. They
had their membership at
the Marcy Schoolhouse, Rufus Miller
leader, while I had mine
at the Thompson Schoolhouse, Father
Yates leader. [This
class was organized in 1828, by the Rev.
Joseph Castle, at the
house of Isaac Thompson, who lived near
Yatesville.] In the
spring of 1843 Mrs. Samuel Bennedict, Mrs.
James Helm, William Thompson,
members. Miss Eveline Benne-
dict and John Collins,
probationers, with myself as leader, were
formed into a class at
the Central Schoolhouse in North Pittston,
by the Rev. William
Round, then in charge of the Pittston Circuit.
The class soon doubled
and trebled and was the nucleus from
which the East and West
Pittston and Yatesville churches have
grown to their present
dimensions. A gracious revival under
the Rev. E. Owen soon
followed, and a class was formed at
Hamtown, Rev. James
Brown, a local preacher, leader. Among
the fruits of this
revival were William Ford and John D. Stark,
who became pillars of
the church and who afterward, as did also
Father Yates, Brothers
George Price and Isaac Thompson, of
the class below, aided
much by their ample means in building the
Pittston, Pa. 889
East Pittston church. David
P. Richard, in 1847, succeeded me
as leader, and the class
was moved downtown, where the business
and population centered.
The late Rev. E. F. Ferris succeeded
Brother Richard as
leader. Another class was formed at this
time, of which J. S.
Wood was appointed leader."
A building committee was
appointed in 1846 consisting of
James McFarlane, John D.
Stark, and Elisha Blackman. A lot
on the corner of Church
and Broad Streets was given the society,
on condition that a
church should be erected, by Johnson and
Bennett. The deed was
executed on May 19, 1851, and is from
Abel Bennett, Jr., and
his wife Adelaide to Edwin Ferris, Elisha
Blackman, James
McFarlane, David Richards, William Ford,
Francis Yates, Francis
Watson, Isaac Thompson, and Miner
Swallow, trustees of the
society. Another writer says:
"In 1849 Pittston
Circuit was divided, and Hyde Park, Slocum
Hollow, and Providence
formed one charge and Pittston and
Plains another. At this
time there was no church building owned
by the Methodist
Episcopal Church at Pittston, but there was a
small brick church at
the Plains. The society at Pittston wor-
shiped in a chapel owned
by the Welsh Methodists, which was
given free of charge.
Meetings were also held in the schoolhouse
in the upper part of the
village. The society owned. a lot on which
a foundation had been
built, and the enterprise had gone no
further. The foundation
was too small. More ground was given
by the Coal Company. The
pastor, Asa Brooks, appointed a
building committee with
power. The foundation was laid by in-
dividual subscribers.
The brickwork was done by Quick & Co.,
of Wilkes-Barre. Stone
for foundation was quarried from Father
Yates's farm and drawn
by volunteers. Lumber was bought of
raftsmen on the river as
they were going down. The church was
finished before the
close of the Conference year."
This last statement can
hardly be true. The Conference year
closed August 1, 1850,
and the church was not dedicated until
December, 1850, by Rev.
D. A. Shepard.
After an expenditure of
$4,000 in building a Sunday school
room on the rear of the
church and otherwise improving the
building it was reopened
on Sunday, October 15, 1871, by Rev.
W. H. Olin. In 1885 $800
was spent on the interior of the
church.
The first parsonage was
built in 1850 or 1851, on Parsonage
Street, a mile from the
church, on ground donated by the Penn-
sylvania Coal Company.
This property was sold in 1866, and a
house and lot on the
corner of Church and Broad Streets,
890 Wyoming Conference
directly opposite the
church, bought for $4,600. The present
parsonage was built just
below the last-named parsonage on
Broad Street in 1896,
costing $3,300.
The old church has been
sold to the Y. M. C. A. for $8,000,
and a new church is
being built on the opposite corner, occupying
the site of the old
parsonage, which will cost about $22,000 when
completed. Class 24 of
the Sunday school has raised $4,000
toward the enterprise.
The society is worshiping in the Y. M.
C. A. hall during the
building of the church.
A camp meeting was held
in 1809 a short distance from the
NEW CHURCH, PITTSTON [photo]
Luzerne House in West
Pittston. In August, 1860, a camp
meeting was held on
Everhart's Island, seventy tents being pitched
on the ground. Meetings
were held here also in 1862 and 1863.
Pittston entertained
Wyoming Conference in 1858.
When West Pittston was
set off it about equally divided the
membership, and when
Yatesville was set off it took thirty-five
members.
Extensive revivals were
witnessed in 1856, 1864-65, and 1870.
The greatest, however,
in the history of the charge was in 1876.
Pastorates
1831, Jonathan M. Brooks;
1832, Samuel Griffin; 1833, E.
Smith; 1834, Marmaduke
Pearce; 1835, S. B. Yarrington; 1836,
C. W. Giddings; 1837-38,
P. G. White; 1839-40, B. Ellis; 1841,
Thomas Wilcox, Henry
Pilbeam; 1842, W. Round; 1843, E.
Owen; 1844, Ira Wilcox,
J. D. Safford; 1845, E. B. Tenney;
1846, John Mulkey; 1847,
John Mulkey, Z. Kellogg (called
Plains, Pa. 891
Lackawanna from
1843-47); 1848, Erastus Smith; 1849, Asa
Brooks; 1850-51, C. W. Giddings;
1852, G. M. Peck, A. H.
Schoonmaker; 1853, G. M.
Peck; 1854, T. D. Walker; 1855, L.
Cole; 1856-57, S.
Stocking; 1858-59, A. P. Mead; 1860-61, G. M.
Peck; 1862-63, O. M.
McDowall; 1864-66, W. J. Judd; 1867-69,
Y. C. Smith; 1870-72, I.
T. Walker; 1873-75, Thomas Harroun;
1876-78, J. O. Woodruff;
1879, L- W. Peck; 1880-81, S. C.
Fulton; 1882-84, H. H.
Dresser; 1885-86, D. C. Olmstead; 1887-
90, W. J. Hill; 1891, P.
J. Kain; 1892, W. L. Thorpe; 1893-94,
J. B. Sumner; 1895, G. C.
Lyman; 1896-98, John Bradshaw;
1899-1903, C. M. Surdam.
Plains, Pa.
Plains was formerly
called Jacob's Plains, from the name of
an Indian chief who once
lived here with his people.
William Colbert mentions
preaching at Jesse Gardner's on the
Plains in 1798. This is
the first mention of Methodist services
in this place. In 1801,
under the labors of Ephraim Chambers, a
revival occurred in this
place. It is claimed that Roger Searle,
PLAINS CHURCH [photo]
one of the converts, was
baptized in the winter by immersion, a
hole being cut in the
ice for the purpose.
The interests of
Methodism here were cared for by the pastors
on Wyoming Circuit until
Wilkes-Barre became a charge, when
the Wilkes-Barre pastor looked
after the interests of the class.
On April 11, 1843, the
society met at the schoolhouse (the
schoolhouse stood on the
site of the present one, nearly opposite
892 Wyoming Conference
the present church, and
was the usual place of worship for the
class; Plains at that
time was part of Wilkes-Barre township)
for the purpose of
considering the building of a church, James
Hancock, James Stark,
John Abbott, Jonathan R. Williams, War-
ren Wilcox, Ezra
Williams, William Apple, Samuel Wilcox, John
Searles, William Abbott,
B. Bailey, D. G. Bailey, Benjamin Cort-
right, and S. F. Abbott
being present. Rev. John Leys, preacher
in charge, acted as
chairman, and D. G. Bailey secretary. They
decided that they were able
and willing to build a meetinghouse.
After considerable
debate as to whether it should be a union
house or not it was
decided that it should be a Methodist Epis-
copal house, "with
the understanding that all truly religious de-
nominations of Christians
have a right to occupy the house by
asking and obtaining
leave of the trustees at any time that may
not interfere with the
regular appointments of the Methodist
preacher in
charge."
At a meeting on April
15, at 2 p. m., James Stark, John Carey,
and James Hancock were
appointed a building committee. A
contract was made with
Gilbert Barnes to build the church for
$940, exclusive of
foundation, and the contractor agreed to col-
lect his pay from the
subscribers. The church was built on a
lot, north of the
parsonage, donated by John Carey, and subse-
quently moved to its
present location. This church was dedicated
on December 14, 1843, by
Rev. Silas Comfort.
On July 7, 1843,
Benjamin Bailey, John Carey, James Stark,
John Searle, and William
Apple were elected trustees, who sub-
sequently organized by
making John Carey chairman, James
Stark secretary, and
Benjamin Bailey treasurer.
An extraordinary revival
broke out in the society in 1854. It
was small in numbers and
still connected with Wilkes-Barre.
Dr. George Peck says he
preached here in a little old church on
Sunday afternoons.
"James Stark, John Carey, and Jacob
Saunders, with a few
women, constituted the active force of the
little society."
Father Moister, a venerable local preacher, was
frequently sent to fill
this afternoon appointment. While he was
preaching one Sunday
afternoon a large number of penitents pre-
sented themselves at the
altar. Meetings were held three weeks
with great success. The
next year the church at Plains became a
charge.
On June 27, 1875, after
expending $2,200 in repairing the
church, it was reopened.
Rev. G. R. Hair preaching morning and
evening, and $988 was
raised to liquidate indebtedness and put
hymnals in the pews.
Plymouth, Pa. 893
The corner stone for the
present church was laid on Thursday,
July 12, 1883, at 2 p.
M., by Rev. A. Griffin. Addresses were
made by Revs. A. L.
Smalley and J. O. Woodruff. The church,
which cost $10,000, was
dedicated on Thursday, July 10, 1884.
Bishop Ninde preached in
the morning from I Pet. i, 8, and in
the evening from i Cor.
xv, 58. Rev. A. Griffin conducted the
dedicatory services. A
total of $3,450 was raised during the day.
The revivals which are
frequently referred to were those of
1867-69, 1870-72, and
1886.
The parsonage is
situated beside the church.
Parsons and Plainsville
were with this charge prior to becom-
ing separate charges.
Miners' Mills. A Sunday school
was organized in the public
school building in 1897.
In the spring of 1898 a dwelling on
Mock Street was
purchased at a cost of $2,200.
Partitions were removed,
the inside remodeled into an audience
and infant class room,
seated with chairs, and an organ purchased,
the whole costing about
$800. Rev. J. N. Lee preached the first
sermon in the building
on the first Sunday previous to the Con-
ference of 1898. The
society became incorporate as "The
Methodist Episcopal
Church of Miners' Mills" on June 1, 1898,
with W. Skidmore,
Benjamin Chandler, W. A. Gnotin, Joseph
Rae, W. Lathrop, G.
Burt, and Joseph Moore trustees. The
society is being
supplied this year by a local preacher, and will
probably become a
separate charge.
Pastorates
1854, R. Moister; 1855,
S. M. Bronson; 1856, J. K. Peck;
1857-58, H. Wheeler;
1859-60, L. Peck; 1861-62, W. Keatley;
1863, M. Swallow;
1864-65, J. S. Lewis; 1866, J. D. Woodruff;
1867-69, F. A. King;
1870-72, N. J. Hawley; 1873-75, W. J.
Hill; 1876-78, H. H.
Dresser; 1879-81, J. L. Race; 1882, J. W.
Mevis; 1883-85, N. S.
Reynolds; 1886-87, H. B. Johnson; 1888,
S. Elwell; 1889-92, J.
F. Williams; 1893-97, J- N. Lee; 1898, F.
Gendall; 1899-1900, F.
D. Hartsock; 1901-03, C. H. Sackett.
Plymouth, Pa.
The Ross Hill class with
its revival work was felt in Shawney
(Plymouth), a few miles
below. We are at sea as to the time
in which the class was
formed at Shawney; one writer claims it
was 1789 and another
1791. The first writer states that the class
met at Widow Coleman's
house — an old stone house in the lower
894 Wyoming Conference
end of town, built in
1774 or 177S, and better known as the
"French
House." The other states that "Rev. Noah Wadhams,
who came from
Litchfield, Conn., in 1789, was originally a Con-
gregationalist, but soon
after settling in Plymouth became a
Methodist and united
with that Church at the forming of a class
in 1791." "The
following are known to have been members of
this society prior to
1795: Noah Wadhams, Moses Wadhams,
Calvin Wadhams, Mrs.
Benjamin Harvey, Mrs. Turner, Mrs.
PLYMOUTH CHURCH [photo]
Davenport, Mrs. Pugh,
Joshua Pugh, Peter Pugh, and Thomas
Pringle."
This territory was a
part of the Newburgh Circuit prior to the
formation of Wyoming
Circuit in 1791. Nathaniel B. Mills was
on the circuit in 1789,
and Joseph Lovell in 1790. They made
infrequent visits to
this territory, and probably visited Plymouth.
From 1791 to its
becoming a charge in 1854 Plymouth was a
part of Wyoming Circuit.
On Sunday, April 28, 1793,
William Colbert preached at the
house of Captain Ransom
in Shawney in the evening. Mr. Col-
bert says in his
journal: "Mrs. Ransom is a daughter of afflic-
tions; she was desirous
of having preaching and being baptized,
with her four children.
I thank God I have been enabled to
speak with freedom
to-day."
Plymouth, Pa. 895
William Colbert heard
Valentine Cook, presiding elder of the
district, preach here on
Friday, December 6, 1793. Calvin Wad-
hams, son of Rev. Noah
Wadhams, was converted at this season
under Mr. Cook's labors.
It is claimed that
Ashbel Waller, a local preacher who lived
at Carytown, two miles
below Wilkes-Barre, did much by his
labors toward establishing
Methodism in Plymouth.
"The first family
in Plymouth brought thoroughly under the
influence of Methodism
was the Coleman family."
Meetings were held in
barns, private houses, and the school-
house until the erection
of the Academy in 1815. This building
was a two-story
building, the lower used for school work, and
the upper fitted up for
religious worship. Calvin Wadhams con-
tributed much toward the
erection of the building. This was the
only church in Plymouth
for over forty years. The Methodists
used this building until
going into their church, paying an annual
rental for the same of
one ear of com.
The first Methodist
church was erected in 1856, Revs. J. B.
Wakeley and William
Wyatt preaching the dedicatory sermons.
It was the day of small
things as compared with the present,
there being but a few
members and poor. "It required great
sacrifice on their part
to pay for the structure, but they did it,
and rejoiced in a church
of their own. Soon after the dedication
a village camp meeting
was held, at which many were converted."
During J. A. Wood's
pastorate in Wilkes-Barre, 1862-63, a
great revival occurred.
"Among the notable conversions was
that of Caleb Wright, a
distinguished lawyer, whose home had
been in Plymouth, and
whose mother still lived there at the ad-
vanced age of
eighty-four. She had always prayed that her son
might be converted and
preach the Gospel. After his conversion
he was licensed a local
preacher, and was much sought after to
preach on special
occasions. Arrangements were made for him
to preach in Plymouth,
where his mother could hear him. The
day appointed arrived. A
carriage was dispatched to bring the
aged mother to the house
of God, but before it arrived she started
on foot, and reached the
church before the vehicle. When her
son began his sermon the
old lady began to shout and praise God,
then arose, stepped into
the aisle, walked to the platform, and
embraced her son, while
the congregation were deeply affected
and moved to tears.
Returning to her seat, she listened through-
out the sermon with
great interest."
In the spring of 1865
the town was flooded, and Moses Wad-
hams took Rev. Mr.
Eckman and his family out of the parsonage
896 Wyoming Conference
in a boat, and took them
to his own home and kept them until the
flood subsided.
In 1866 the first
parsonage was built, parsonages having been
rented before this. A
lot was secured on Main Street and a
house erected, which was
used until the present house beside the
church was built in
1889, costing $3,500, when it was sold.
In the spring of 1876 it
was found necessary to build a larger
church. "All
entered enthusiastically into the plan. The old build-
ing was sold to J. B.
Smith, who removed it to Forty Fort, where
it now stands. The Rev.
L. Cole, a former pastor, preached the
farewell sermon in the
old church. The new enterprise was pushed
vigorously, the comer
stone being laid early in the fall with
appropriate ceremonies.
Revs. G. R. Hair, W. P. White, L. B.
Hyatt, and E. W. Caswell
officiating. While the new church
was being erected
meetings were held in the Episcopal chapel
adjoining. With the week
of prayer, January, 1877, revival
meetings began, which
soon compelled removal to Smith's
Opera House on account
of the great interest. One hundred and
thirty-five united with
the Methodists, while several joined the
Presbyterians."
The church, which cost
$32,000, was dedicated on Wednesday,
January 9, 1878. Bishop
Simpson preached in the morning from
Eph. iii, 10, and Rev.
C. H. Fowler, D.D., in the evening from
I Cor. xiii, 12. Rev. W.
H. Olin, D.D., conducted the dedicatory
services. The sum of
$22,000 was raised during the day, the
balance having been
previously raised. In February of this year
a revival resulted in
the conversion of over one hundred persons.
In 1881-82 $13,000 of
indebtedness was paid.
The year 1884 was one
doubly marked — a revival resulted in
one hundred and
thirty-two probationers, and typhoid fever
carried off more than
one hundred and fifty people of the town.
In 1886 a gracious
ingathering took place.
From 1889 to 1893 the
church gradually strengthened, and
from 1894 to 1898 over
one hundred and fifty united with the
church from probation,
and $4,500 was spent in a new organ,
carpets, interior
decorations, etc.
At this writing a Sunday
school room, 75x55, two stories high,
built of brick and
covered with cement, is being added to the rear
of the church. It has
entrances on both sides of the church.
This, with improvements
on the interior of the church and con-
templated improvements
in the parsonage, will cost about $16,000.
About 1882 a mission was
established in East Plymouth, known
as Boston Hill Mission.
After continuing its work more than
Rendham, Pa. 897
ten years the little
chapel which had been erected was sold, the
proceeds used for the
benefit of the mother church, and the work
discontinued.
Pastorates
1854, A. Bronson; 1855,
J. Bradbury; 1856-57, L. Cole; 1858,
A. H. Schoonmaker;
1859-60, J. W. Munger; 1861-62, C. L.
Rice; 1863-64, J. G. Eckman;
1865, C. W. Todd; 1866-68, Ira
N. Pardee; 1869-71, J.
La Bar; 1872-74, L. Cole; 1875, S. C.
Fulton; 1876-78, E. W.
Caswell; 1879-80, S. F. Brown; 1881-83,
G. M. Colville; 1884-85,
I. T. Walker; 1886-88, L. C. Floyd;
1889-93, J. O. Woodruff;
1894-98, O. L. Severson; 1899-1901,
W. L. Thorpe; 1902-03,
J. Bradshaw.
Rendham, Pa.
This society was a part
of the Taylor charge for a while, and
was supplied by students
from Wyoming Seminary for a few
years. Work was begun on
a church building nearer the post
RENDHAM CHURCH AND PARSONAGE [photo]
office than the present
church is, but was abandoned when the
present church was
offered.
In the spring of 1890
John Stewart and wife died in Scranton,
Pa., and were both buried
at one time. Mrs. L. G. Hesler, Mrs.
G. B. Kulp, Mrs. W. D.
Loomis, and Mrs. C. B. Scott, daughters
of Mr. and Mrs. Stewart,
donated a lot from the Stewart home-
stead and built the
church as a memorial to their parents and
presented it to the society.
The corner stone was laid on Satur-
day, October 10, 1891,
the services being in charge of Rev. M. S.
898 Wyoming Conference
Hard, D.D. The daughters
named above laid the stone. Mrs.
L. G. Hesler was the
originator of the enterprise. The church
was dedicated in 1892 by
Rev. M. S. Hard, D.D. Shortly after
dedication a revival
occurred in which over seventy souls were
saved.
The parsonage was built
in 1897 at a cost of $1,500. In 1898
$500 was spent in still
further improving and perfecting it.
The Stewart Memorial
Church became incorporated in 1896.
Pastorates
1891, J. K. Peck;
1892-93, L. E. Van Hoesen; 1894-95, W. R.
Cochrane; 1896-97, T. M.
Furey; 1898-1903, J. L. Race.
SCRANTON, Pa. ASBURY
A union service was held
on a Sunday afternoon in June, 1873,
in the Green Ridge depot
of the Delaware and Hudson Canal
Company, Mr. Manville,
the superintendent, kindly consenting
ASBURY CHURCH, SCRANTON [photo]
to its use for that
purpose. The audience was largely composed
of Methodist and
Presbyterian church members. Rev. J. B.
Fisher, of the
Providence Presbyterian Church, officiated at this
ASBURY, SCRANTON 899
service, and the
following Sunday Rev. W. J. Judd, of the Provi-
dence Methodist Church,
conducted the service. These services
were continued about
three years, Methodist and Presbyterian
pastors alternating in
the preaching services, and were well
attended.
About the time the
Presbyterian church on the corner of Green
Ridge Street and Monsey
Avenue was finished (this building is
now owned by the
Episcopalians) the Good Templars' Hall on
Dickson Avenue was
fitted up. This hall was in the second story
of the building now
occupied by G. W. Hornbaker, 1542 Dick-
son Avenue. The
Methodists leased this hall for $60 per year,
having the use of it for
one preaching service, one prayer meeting,
and one Sunday school
session each week. Rev. L. C. Floyd, pas-
tor at Adams Avenue
Church, delivered the first sermon in the
hall, prophesying great
victories as the result of that beginning.
Park Place (Court
Street) was organized about the same time,
and in 1876 Park Place
and Green Ridge were united in a charge,
under the name of Park
Place. The pastor preached at Green
Ridge in the morning and
at Park Place in the evening. The
first Quarterly
Conference appointed W. H. Peck, Erastus
Smith, Christian Seward,
and Merrit O. Utley stewards. A
revival during the year
strengthened both societies.
The Sunday school was
organized on June 25, 1876, with
forty-seven members. The
following have served as superin-
tendents, and in the
order nimed: W. H. Peck, Isaac W. Higgs,
A. C. Caryl, R. W.
Kellow, D. C. Seward, S. G. Dilley, A. W.
Swartz, John Baker, B.
T. Jayne, and E. S. Pratt.
In 1880 a building fund
was started, and enough money was
raised to purchase a lot
on the corner of Monsey Avenue and
Delaware Street, for
which $1,000 was paid. Application was
made to the court for a
charter, which was granted by Judge
Handley on August 2,
1881, naming W. H. Peck, R. W. Kellow,
W. D. Lord, D. C.
Seward, and Merrit Gardner trustees of "The
Green Ridge Methodist
Episcopal Church of Scranton, Pa." In
1891 the corporate name
of the society was changed to "The
Asbury Methodist
Episcopal Church of Scranton, Pa." About
the time the application
was made for a charter R. W. Kellow,
W. H. Peck, and D. C.
Seward were constituted a building com-
mittee. Plans for. a
chapel were prepared, and a contract made
with Ezra Finn to build
it.
The chapel, with its
furnishings, cost $1,824, and was dedicated
on Sunday, June 4, 1882,
by Rev. A. Griffin, the debt being pro-
vided for on the day of
dedication. The pastor was so ardent to
900 Wyoming Conference
promote the project that
he went to the quarry and helped get
out the stone for the foundation.
In 1885 Park Place and
Green Ridge were divided and made
two charges. In 1886 the
chapel was found to be too small, and
it was decided to build
a Tabernacle. Rev. O. P. Wright, R. W.
Kellow, D. C. Seward, B.
T. Jayne, E. D. Hughes, and W. D.
Lord were appointed a
building committee. The contract was
given to Charles Lord.
This "paper church," as it was after-
ward called, was
dedicated on July 18, 1886. Rev. J. E. Price,
D.D., preached from John
i, 18. At this service $1,200 was
raised. The same
building committee supervised the erection of
the parsonage, which
cost $1,800, which amount was carried by
a loan until 1889, when
it was paid. At this time the lot pur-
chased of Mr. Peck was
occupied as follows: the Tabernacle
faced Monsey Avenue, and
stood diagonally across the street
from the present church,
directly behind the Tabernacle, and
facing Delaware Street
stood the chapel, while just above this,
facing Delaware Street,
stood the parsonage.
In the middle of 1888 the
pastor was transferred to Simpson
Church, and Rev. J. O.
Spencer, a missionary from Japan, filled
out the year.
The society continued to
grow, and in 1891 the need of a new
church was apparent. A
platform meeting was held, addressed
by Dr. Floyd, Dr. W. H.
Pearce, and others, when about $3,700
was subscribed toward
the enterprise. Subsequently T. J.
Snowden, E. E. Teal, R.
W. Kellow, J. M. Rhodes, and H. B.
Reynolds were
constituted a building committee. Plans were
secured for a church.
"The building as planned, being somewhat
larger than the church
lot on the northeast corner of Monsey
Avenue and Delaware
Street, it was found necessary either to
modify plans, procure
additional land, or to purchase a new site."
The latter plan seemed
the most feasible, and the present site
was purchased, costing
$5,200. The Peck Lumber Company
took the contract to
build the church, which with its furnishings
cost $27,000. The
building is not complete, as the Sunday school
room was not built. This
building was dedicated on Sunday,
September 10, 1893.
Bishop FitzGerald preached in the morning
from Rom. vi, 8. In the
afternoon a platform meeting was held,
addressed by Messrs.
May, Peck, Wood, and Boies, and in the
evening Rev. W. H. Pearce
preached from Rom. xii, 2. A total
of $9,400 was raised
during the day. Bishop FitzGerald con-
ducted the dedicatory
service. Dr. Couch, of Brooklyn, managed
the finances.
ASBURY, SCRANTON 901
The old Tabernacle was
sold to the Spike Mill, the chapel sold
and moved to Deacon
Street, and converted into a dwelling.
In 1896 the bonded
indebtedness of $10,000, trustees' note of
$3,000, and floating
indebtedness combined to form an indebted-
ness of over $18,000.
The condition was appalling, as the society
as yet had never been
able to meet its interest from the current
expense fund. A
twentieth anniversary service was arranged
for June 18 to 21, 1896.
On the evening of the 18th the Sunday
school held an
anniversary, and on Friday evening, the 19th, a
reception was given to
former pastors, at which several of them
made addresses. On June
21 Rev. F. C. Iglehart, D.D., preached
in the morning, and Rev.
D. H. Moore, D.D., preached in the
evening. During the day
$10,000 was subscribed; $3,000 had
been subscribed by
friends in the central part of the city, and
the pastor subsequently
secured $2,000 from various sources,
making a total of
$15,000 subscribed, $13,000 of which was paid
within the next two
years.
The present parsonage
was built in 1900, costing $5,200, and
the old parsonage
property sold for $2,000. During the same
year the steam-heating
plant was installed in the church at a cost
of about $1,200. Since
this time the organ has been lowered,
and in 1903 the
auditorium was cleaned and handsomely deco-
rated, costing several
hundred dollars.
The pipe organ is the
one which was formerly in Adams
Avenue Methodist
Episcopal Church.
Mr. W. H. Lanyon was the
chorister here about twenty years.
The Ladies' Aid Society
has been exceptionally successful in
its work.
Pastorates
1876-84, with Park Place;
1885, H. H. Dresser; 1886-88½,
O. P. Wright; balance of
1888, J. O. Spencer; 1889-90, F. A.
Chapman; 1891-93, G. A.
Cure; 1894-98, A. F. Chaffee; 1899-
1901, W. G. Simpson;
1902-03, C. A. Benjamin.
SCRANTON, Pa. — Ash Street
In the fall of 1890 a
little company of Christians began holding
prayer services in an
old house owned by Scott Watrous, situated
on James Street. The
following spring they began holding the
meetings in private
houses. As numbers increased it became
desirable to have a
permanent place of worship. A small tri-
angular lot on the
corner of Ash and James Streets was secured
of Lewis Spangenburg,
and a chapel 18x28 feet erected, costing
902 Wyoming Conference
about $700. It was known
as the "People's Union Mission." It
was soon discovered to
be too small, and in May, 1892, it was
decided to enlarge it.
Additional land was bought of Mr.
Spangenburg, for which,
and the former lot, the society paid
$175. The building was
enlarged to double its former capacity.
In 1894 Elm Park Church
invited this society to become a
mission under its
direction, and by a unanimous vote of the
society the invitation
was accepted. Mr. Arthur Scranton paid
off all the indebtedness
and deeded the property to Elm Park
Church on March 26,
1894. W. G. Doud was one of the
originators of this
society, and supported the work loyally for
years, holding the
office of trustee, secretary, and treasurer. In
1897 it appears among
the appointments, with F. Carr as pastor.
He had served the
society some little time before this, however.
Desirous of securing a
better location, the society purchased
two lots on Myrtle Street,
between Harrison and Wheeler
Avenues, in 1903, valued
at $2,000. A temporary church, double
boarded, lined with
building paper, wainscoted, ceiled with pine,
a tar-paper roof, heated
by a furnace, and lighted by electricity,
was dedicated on December
20, 1903. The building will seat
about two hundred
persons, and will very comfortably house the
congregation until it
gets ready to build a substantial church.
The old church has been
sold.
Nay Aug became a part of
the charge in 1899, and Throop
in 1903.
The society experienced
the greatest revival of its history in
1900, when there were
seventy-eight conversions.
Nay Aug. On April 15, 1887, a
Sunday school, consisting of
thirteen pupils, was
organized in the home of Mrs. Nancy J.
Turner, of Nay Aug. Mr.
Henry Hayfler was elected superin-
tendent, and Miss Tillie
Turner, a prime mover in the work, one
of the teachers. Later
the school met in the schoolhouse. Prayer
meetings were held in
private houses, at which conversions were
frequently occurring.
The converts joined the Dunmore Metho-
dist Episcopal Church.
In 1890 the citizens of
Nay Aug decided to build a church.
There were but seven
members in the society, and the task
seemed impossible.
"You will never build a church in Nay Aug,"
remarked a local
preacher. "We shall!" replied a worldly man.
The latter was William
M. Nixon, yardmaster in the Nay Aug
Delaware, Lackawanna,
and Western Railroad yards. Rev. J. B.
Sumner, presiding elder
of Honesdale District, assisted by Rev.
Ash Street, Scranton 903
A. C. Olver, selected
the location, which was donated by Mrs.
Margaret P. Lawrence, of
Nay Aug. The court granted "The
Nay Aug Methodist
Episcopal Church" a charter on October 31,
1890, naming John
Turner, B. H. Kenner, Frank Turner, Judson
Smith, James A. Welch, William
M. Nixon, and William Long
trustees.
The corner stone was
laid on Sunday afternoon, May 17, 1891,
Rev. F. A. Dony
preaching the sermon. W. M. Nixon then
went to O. S. Johnson
and asked him to donate enough rough
lumber to build the
church. "If I were sure it would make a
man out of you I'd do
it." Nixon is now a devoted member,
steward, trustee, class
leader, secretary and treasurer of the
official board. The
lumber was given and delivered. As soon as
the roof was on services
were held in the building. The society
struggled two years,
paying their bills as they went on toward
completion. The building
was dedicated in 1892, having cost
$1,200, by Rev. J. C.
Leacock, the pastor at Dunmore.
The Ladies' Aid Society
and Epworth League have been very
helpful in the work
here.
Revs. J. M. Howell and
John Davy served this people prior to
1894, when this society
was placed with Throop, where it re-
mained until 1899, when
it became a part of Ash Street charge.
Throop. The church here was built
for the Primitive Meth-
odists by the Pancoast
Coal Company, on a lot donated by Dr.
Throop. The society
failing to pay for the church, after a few
years it was sold to the
Baptists, who also failed to pay for it.
It was finally sold to the
Methodist Episcopal Church in August,
1892, for $600. The
society became incorporated on August 2,
1892, as "The First
Methodist Episcopal Church of Throop,"
with John H. Law, J. D.
Fahringer, Samuel Hulse, C. L. Krotzer,
and Amzi Van Campen as
trustees. The society was small, but
with the help of outside
friends paid for the church. It was
served in 1892 by Rev.
C. Van Gorder, the evangelist, in 1893 by
Rev. John Davy, and by
Rev. J. V. Newell from 1894-98; in 1899
Rev. Joseph Madison was
pastor, and in 1901-02 Rev. J. M.
Coleman served the
society. In 1903 the society was placed with
Ash Street. Nay Aug was
with Throop from 1894 to 1898
inclusive.
Pastorates
1897, F. Carr; 1898-99,
W. S. Crandall; 1900-02, J. R. Austin;
1903, E. N. Kline.
904 Wyoming Conference
SCRANTON, Pa. — Court Street
In the winter of 1874
the Young Men's Christian Association
held a successful series
of revival meetings in the Park Place
schoolhouse. The school
board objecting to the further use of
the schoolhouse for
religious purposes, the people, five weeks
before Easter, decided
to build a union church and dedicate it on
Easter Sunday. It was
done, and on that Sunday money was
raised to paint,
plaster, and otherwise finish the building.
Ministers of various
denominations were to preach to them. On
Sunday a Universalist
preacher had been invited to preach, but
some of the people did
not care to hear his doctrine, and, there-
fore, closed the doors
against him. This, of course, caused
trouble.
At this time the Young
Men's Christian Association decided
to buy off the people
who were interested in the church and then
claim the property. This
they failed to do. Just at this time the
Adams Avenue Methodist
Episcopal Church bought the building
and used it as a mission
chapel. In the spring of 1876 the people
of Park Place bought the
property back from the Adams Avenue
Church. In that spring
Park Place and Green Ridge were formed
into a charge, under the
name of Park Place. The two places
were separated in 1885,
each becoming a charge. The name
of the church was
changed from Park Place to Court Street
in 1895.
The old chapel was sold
and moved away in 1891, and on
October 8 of that year
the corner stone of the present church was
laid by Rev. M. S. Hard,
D.D., Revs. W. H. Pearce, D.D., and
L. C. Floyd, Ph.D.,
being present and making addresses. The
church was dedicated on
April 24, 1892. Rev. B. I. Ives did the
preaching and managed
the finances during the day, and Rev.
M. S. Hard conducted the
dedicatory service. The brick for the
church was donated by
Joseph Switzer. The building cost about
$10,000, one half of
which was provided for on the day of dedica-
tion. In 1898 $1,700 was
paid on indebtedness and a debt
remained of $4,200.
During the years 1899, 1900, and 1901,
principally in 1901,
this debt was reduced to $2,300. In 1903
$1,000 was spent in carpeting,
frescoing, rearranging the pulpit
platform, and minor
improvements. About $400 in labor was
contributed, and the
balance raised in cash. The church was
reopened on Sunday,
October 4, 1903. Rev. A. Griffin, D.D.,
preached in the morning,
and Rev. A. F. Chaffee in the evening.
In the afternoon a
laymen's meeting was held, addressed by J. S.
Court Street, Scranton
905
Miller and C. W. Dawson.
About $400 was raised during the
day. On Monday evening,
the 5th, Rev. C. M. Giffin, D.D.,
preached, and Rev. H. C.
McDermott, D.D., on Tuesday evening,
the 6th.
The parsonage was built
in 1887, costing $2,500.
The society has made an
heroic struggle, and has deservedly
experienced a healthy
growth.
Tripp Park. But
little can be written concerning this child
of Court Street Church
which is just beginning to be. The
development of Tripp
Park brought together a number of
families, some of whom
identified themselves with the Court
COURT STREET CHURCH AND PARSONAGE [photo]
Street Church. The
advisability of planting a mission in this
growing section prompted
the Court Street pastor to seek the
advice of the Scranton
Methodist Preachers' Meeting, which
advised planting the
mission. Elm Park official board promised
to back the enterprise
to the amount of one half its cost, providing
the cost should not
exceed $3,000. The Simpson official board
also indorsed the
enterprise. A committee from the three
churches. Elm Park,
Simpson, and Court Street, met in October
and selected the lots,
which were subsequently purchased of the
Tripp Land Company for
$800, the Land Company donating
$440 of the purchase
price. A chapel 38x42, and costing about
$1,200, was dedicated on
December 21, 1903. This mission of
Court Street promises
well.
906 Wyoming Conference
Pastorates
1876, W. Treible; 1877,
O. H. McAnulty; 1878-79, E. R. D.
Briggs; 1880-81, L.
Jennison; 1882-83, G. M. Peck; 1884, J. V.
Newell; 1885-86, J. A.
Faulkner; 1887-88, W. J. Judd; 1889-90,
Jonas Underwood;
1891-93, J. F. Jones; 1894, P. R. Hawxhurst;
1895-97, G. T. Price;
1898-1903, G. C. Lyman.
SCRANTON, Pa. — Elm Park
By reference to the
sketch of Providence Church it will be seen
that this society sprang
from that church and that the Slocum
Hollow class was formed
about 1840. The first church erected
in Scranton proper cost
$500. We quote from Mr. J. C. Piatt:
"The Village Chapel
was commenced in 1841 and finished early
in 1842. It was under
the supervision of the Methodists, but
other evangelical
denominations were not excluded from using
it. [On July 5, 1842,
Scranton, Grant & Co., in consideration
of $1, deeded to Barton
Motte, Erastus Smith, and William Silk-
man, trustees, the lot
on which the chapel had been built "in the
town or village of
Harrison, in the township of Providence, on
Lackawanna Street,"
containing quarter of an acre.] It Stood
on a lot 70x155, given
by Scranton, Grant & Co., partly on what
is now Adams Avenue at
its juncture with Lackawanna Avenue,
on a bluff some ten feet
high, which has been removed in grading
the avenues. The corner
of the chapel was almost exactly where
the corner of Messrs.
Jifkins's meat market now is, but not in
line with the avenue.
The city plot was laid out in 1850-51, and,
in order that the two
avenues named could be opened where they
now are, Scrantons &
Piatt, in 1855-56, gave the three lots now
occupied by the Methodist
church and parsonage [the Adams
Avenue Church] near by
on Adams Avenue, and $2,000 in build-
ing materials, in
exchange for the old lot, 100 feet front by 112
feet deep." The
chapel was used on alternate Sabbaths by Pres-
byterians and
Methodists. The Methodists worshiped in this
chapel until the going
into the basement of the Adams Avenue
Church. On doing this
the chapel was sold to the German Meth-
odists, who moved it to
the corner of Adams Avenue and Vine
Street. The building may
now be found on a corner of the above-
named streets on the
rear of the lot.
On November 7, 1854, the
society became incorporate as "The
Scranton Society of the
Methodist Episcopal Church." On
October 23, 1879, the
charter was amended, the society taking
Elm Park, Scranton 907
the corporate name of
"The First Methodist Episcopal Church
of Scranton, Pa.,"
Lewis' Pughe, J. L. Medway, Charles Forester,
Robert H. McKune, G. F.
Reynolds, and William Connell being
the trustees at the
time. The charter was again amended on
October 19, 1891.
Work was commenced on
the Adams Avenue Church in the
fall of 1855, and in the
fall of 1856 the basement was completed
and dedicated by Rev. W.
Wyatt, the presiding elder, who
preached from Matt, xvi,
18: "Upon this rock I will build my
ADAMS AVENUE CHURCH, SCRANTON [photo]
church, and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it." On the
day of dedication $150
was raised. The Missionary Society paid
$400 of the minister's
salary that year. Mr. Wyatt says: "It was
a memorable time. I
preached with great freedom and much
assurance, and have
reason to think that good was done." The
building was completed
in 1858, and the audience room was first
used on the evening of
September 8, 1858, by a reception which
was given to the
daughter of Rev. B. W. Gorham, Nellie, who
had just married Rev. S.
L. Baldwin and was about to go to
China as a missionary.
In 1879 the church was
enlarged at a cost of $12,000. The
building had three
memorial windows: one to the memory of
Mary Ann Slocum, who
left the church $800 at her death in
1875; another was put in
by Horace Phelps in memory of his
mother, Mrs. Hannah
Phelps; and the third was in memory of
Hattie B. Nivison. A new
pipe organ was purchased at this
time. The church was
dedicated on January 24, 188o, with
908 Wyoming Conference
sermons by Rev. C. H.
Fowler and Rev. P. Krohn, the former
preaching from Rom.
viii, 14.
The growth of the church
made it evident that larger accommo-
dations were needed, and
the matter was agitated several years,
until a committee was
appointed to solicit funds on February 12,
1891. The present site
was purchased on March 16, 1891, for
$30,000. Two thousand
people gathered at 5 p. m. on Tuesday,
September 8, 1891, to
witness the breaking of ground for the
new church. Rev. M. S.
Hard, D.D., led in prayer. James P.
Dickson gave some
reminiscences of early days in Scranton.
Hon. R. W. Archibald
sketched the history of Methodism in the
Lackawanna valley,
paying a warm tribute to the pioneers.
Captain W. A. May spoke
upon the new church enterprise; while
Colonel E. H. Ripple
brought greetings from Grace Reformed
Episcopal Church, Rev. S.
C. Logan from the First Presbyterian
Church, and James H.
Torrey from the Second Presbyterian
Church. William Connell,
after a few remarks, broke the ground
when Rev. L. C. Floyd
pronounced the benediction. A chorus
of one hundred voices
assisted in the service.
On September 30, 1891,
the Adams Avenue Church property
was sold to the Clark
and Snover Company for $30,000, and on
Sunday, October 11,
1891, farewell services were held in the
church. Rev. J. G.
Eckman preached in the morning. Hon.
Lewis Pughe, an
ex-superintendent, and others addressed the
Sunday school in the
afternoon, and in the evening addresses
were made by Revs. L. W.
Peck, L. C. Floyd, and William
Connell. On the
following Sunday services were commenced
in the Tabernacle, which
had been hastily prepared on the corner
of Adams Avenue and
Mulberry Street, where the society wor-
shiped until going into
the new church.
The contract for the
building of the church and parsonage was
let to Conrad Shroeder,
and the corner stone was laid April 23,
1892, by the pastor, at
which time addresses were made by Revs.
B. P. Raymond, D.D.,
Charles Robinson, D.D., M. S. Hard, D.D.,
and Judge Alfred Hand.
The parsonage was begun
on May 10 and completed October 1.
The church was completed
and ready for dedication, and the
program arranged.
Services were to begin on December 12, and
close on December 18,
1892. About four o'clock on the morning
of Saturday, December 3,
1892, the church was found to be on
fire. The building was
completely gutted, the tower and chime
of bells being saved.
The society received $52,143.44 from the
insurance companies,
gifts from sympathizing friends amounting
Elm Park, Scranton 909
to $12,656.75, and from
the organ recital and concert arranged
for December 13, and
which was held in the Penn Avenue Bap-
tist Church, a generous
amount. The work of rebuilding com-
menced at once and was
progressing finely when a second fire
occurred on March 27,
1893, which completely destroyed the
walls, leaving the tower
standing, though badly chipped in
places. This time the
building was insured for $30,000. It be-
came the belief that the
fires were of an incendiary origin, and
methods of discovery
resulted in the conviction of Peter Hom-
baugh, the sexton, in
the fall of 1893 and his incarceration in
ELM PARK CHURCH AND PARSONAGE [photo]
solitary confinement ten
years. The work of rebuilding was
vigorously pushed and
completed in the early winter.
We quote from the
building edition of The Scientific American
of 1897:
"The site is a most
desirable one, triangular in shape,...
while the church
property is the most spacious, adapted to the
greatest variety of
uses, acoustically the most satisfactory, and
without a superior in
location and architectural effect.
"In this building
is an organ pronounced by competent au-
thorities the finest in
this country [since this organ was put in
two organs have been
erected in Wilkes-Barre which have a few
910 Wyoming Conference
more stops]; three
memorial windows equal to any; a perfect
system of heating and
ventilation; and a chime of bells which,
owing to their relation
to the hills and plateaus of the city and
the neighboring
mountains, produce an effect quite pleasing and
unique in its character.
"The style is of
the Romanesque order. The basement con-
tains pastor's study,
with open fireplace, trustees' room, ladies'
parlor, lecture room,
dining room and kitchen for entertainment
purposes, heating room,
storeroom, numerous entrances, coat
rooms, and toilet rooms
complete. The auditorium is planned
after the Akron style,
and has a seating capacity of two thousand
five hundred when the
Sunday school room and the main audi-
torium are thrown
together.... The church is as near perfect
in its equipments as it
is possible for any building of its'
character.
"The building is of
native rock trimmed with Ohio sandstone."
The chime of ten bells
is the gift of Mr. and Mrs. William
Connell as a memorial for
their children — a bell for each.
The Epworth League and
King's Daughters furnished the
chancel window, the
"Repose in Egypt." W. H. Peck, in memory
of his father and
grandfather, gave the window "Christ among
the doctors," and
the window "The Nativity of Christ" was given
by Dr. A. J., H. H., W.
L., and Jessie G. Connell in memory of
their parents. The
pulpit furniture was contributed by Mrs.
Franc T. Vail.
The feast of dedication
began with an organ recital and concert
on December 7 and 8, 1893,
which netted about $9,000. These
were followed by a
series of meetings in which forty-eight min-
isters of various
denominations participated. Governor Patti-
son, Hon. Samuel
Ammerman, Colonel E. H. Ripple, Colonel H.
M. Boies, and Mrs.
Margaret Bottome also had part in the week's
program. On Sunday,
December 17, Bishop Fowler preached in
the morning, and Rev. J.
M. Buckley, D.D., in the evening, after
which the pastor
received one hundred and ten persons into
church membership. Bishop
Fowler then conducted the dedica-
tory service.
During the week
$40,699.29 was received, and the church was
dedicated without making
an appeal for funds. The building cost
about $150,000, and the
total property is valued at $225,000.
Since building the
church the society has purchased a triangular
piece of ground in the
rear of the church for $13,000.
The early class leaders
were, in the order named, Martin Wash-
burn, Barton Motte, Adam
L. Horn, and Samuel Culver.
Embury, Scranton 911
Miss Tilly Hawley was
employed as church missionary several
years by the Woman's
Home Missionary Society of the church.
This church entertained the
Conference in April, 1860; April,
1880; and in April,
1894.
The appointment was
called Scranton until 1876, when it be-
came known as First
Church, which name it carried until 1893,
when it took the name of
Elm Park. It was a part of Pittston
Circuit until Providence
charge was formed in 1849, when it be-
came a part of that
charge, and in 1855 it became a charge itself.
Court Street, Saint
Paul's, and Ash Street have been missions
of this church.
Pastorates
1855, A. H. Schoonmaker;
1856-57, George Peck; 1858-59,
B. W. Gorham; 1860-61,
G. C. Bancroft; 1862-63, J. V. Newell;
1864, J. A. Wood;
1865-66, N. W. Everett; 1867, B. D. Sturde-
vant; 1868, B. D.
Sturdevant, J. C. Nobles; 1869, J. C. Nobles;
1870-71, P. Krohn; 1872,
G. P. Porter; 1873-74, I. T. Walker;
1875-76, L. C. Floyd;
1877-79, J- G. Eckman; 1880-82, J. E.
Smith; 1883-85, L. C.
Muller; 1886-87, J. E. Price; 1888, J. E.
Price, C. S. G. Boone;
1889, J. E. Price, J. W. Nicholson; 1890,
C. C. McLean, J. W. Nicholson;
1891-95, W. H. Pearce; 1896-
1900, C. M. Giffin;
1901-02, C. M. Giffin, E. B. Singer; 1903,
C. M. Giffin, C. R.
Vickery.
Scranton, Pa. — Embury
After occupying the
corner of Hampton and Ninth Streets
about ten years, and
building a little church costing $2,500, the
Protestant Methodist
society saw its property sold by the sheriff
in the spring of 1882.
The property was bought by a gentleman
friendly to the
Methodist Episcopal Church, who sold it to us
for $1,350. The society
was organized with some members of the
Protestant Methodist
Church and some from the Simpson
Church, and it became
incorporated on June 22, 1882, with
Thomas P. Arnt, Henry
Smith, C. W. Treverton, John R. Hall,
and H. C. Hinman as
trustees.
On July 2, 1882, the
presiding elder appointed Rev. John
La Bar pastor, who
preached his' first sermon to the newly formed
society from "For I
determined to know nothing among you save
Jesus Christ and him
crucified." Shortly afterward the Sunday
school. Ladies' Aid, and
other societies were organized.
The charge appeared
among the appointments in 1883.
912 Wyoming Conference
After an expenditure of
$6,000, the church was reopened on
February 19, 1892. The
old church, which faced Hampton
Street, was moved to the
rear of the lot, facing Ninth Street, and
was fitted up for Sunday
school and social purposes. A new
building 54x37 feet, was
erected on the site of the old church,
which would seat three
hundred, and the old chapel so arranged
relative to the new
church that it might be opened and add to
the auditorium two hundred
sittings. Several memorial windows
were put in, the most
conspicuous being one for a former pastor.
Rev. G. C. Lewis. The
society was so pleased with the work of
the pastor during the
building of the church that it put a tablet
in the auditorium
attesting its gratitude. On the day of dedica-
EMBURY CHURCH, SCRANTON [photo]
tion Chaplain McCabe
preached in the morning from Exod. xxv,
8, and in the evening
speeches were made by several former pas-
tors and Chaplain
McCabe. During the day $3,097 was raised,
which with funds
previously raised left an indebtedness of $2,100.
The parsonage on Ninth
Street was built in 1885, costing
$1,100.
In 1892 the indebtedness
reported was $3,189. From year to
year more or less of the
indebtedness was canceled, until in 1901
only $400 remained
unpaid. This is a noble record. As time
passed it became very
evident that a better location must be
secured. The present
church lot was donated to the society by
W. W. Watson, and was
valued at $1,500, and the lot beside it,
upon which the parsonage
stands, was purchased for $1,000. The
parsonage with its
furnishings cost $2,700, and the church about
Providence, Scranton 913
$14,000. The old
property was taken by the contractor at $2,500.
This with labor and
other contributions reduced the amount to
be raised on the day of
dedication to $12,500. The building was
dedicated on May 4,
1902. Rev. S. F. Upham, D.D., preached in
the morning from Mark
xiv, 8. In the afternoon a Sunday school
rally and mass meeting
was held, addressed by Revs. F. P. Doty,
H. C. McDermott, C. B.
Henry, and Dr. Upham. James Shepard
conducted the League
service, and in the evening Rev. J. B.
Sweet, D.D., preached.
Mr. J. W. Powell, managed the finances
during the day, and
secured $12,500 upon subscription. The
dedicatory service was
conducted by Dr. Upham. Jubilee serv-
ices during the week
following the dedicatory day were addressed
by Revs. J. P. Moffatt,
S. F. Matthews, T. DeGruchy, H. C.
McDermott, C. H. Newing,
G. A. Cure, M. D. Fuller, C B.
Henry, and J. Bradshaw.
The court granted an
amendment to the charter of the society
on July 15, 1901, by
which the name of the society was changed
to "Embury
Methodist Episcopal Church of South Main and
Bryn Mawr Streets of
North East District of Lackawanna Town-
ship, Lackawanna County,
Pa."
In 1903 the indebtedness
was reported as being $9,500.
Pastorates
1883, J. La Bar;
1884-86, G. C. Lewis; 1887-88, W. R. Neth-
erton; 1889-90, S.
Elwell; 1891, H. B. Benedict; 1892, C. H.
Hayes; 1893-94, A. W.
Cooper; 1895-97, F. P. Doty; 1898-1903,
J. Benninger.
Scranton, Pa. — Providence
Sometime in May, 1793,
William Colbert preached to a few
people at a Brother
How's, and also met a small class. He lodged
at Joseph Waller's. This
was at Capouse. How's and Waller's
were regular preaching
places at that time. In 1798 Colbert
stopped at Daniel
Taylor's in Capouse. This was probably be-
tween Providence and the
central part of the city, and not far
from the power house of
the street railway. In 1802 Providence
was credited, on the
stewards' book of Wyoming Circuit, with
forty cents quarterage.
Elisha Bibbins stated that a class existed
here in 1812, and that
he used to stop with an old man by the
name of Ireland. This
class was undoubtedly the nucleus of the
present church, and its
meetings were probably moved from
Capouse to Providence
Corners when the settlement at the latter
place began to grow. In
1826 Providence had but seven
914 Wyoming Conference
dwellings, and was
called "Razorville" or "The Corners." In
1840 the class had twenty
or more members. Mrs. C. E. Gardner
said they were
"intelligent and well-bred people, mostly from
Westchester County, N.
Y.," and that "the officials of the society
were men of business
ability and sterling religious character."
At that time (1840) the
class was a part of Pittston Circuit. In
1849 Providence was
taken from Pittston Circuit, and with
Slocum Hollow (now Elm
Park), Hyde Park, Dunmore, and
PROVIDENCE CHURCH, SCRANTON [photo]
Blakely constituted a
charge under the name of Providence. In
1869 Providence was
alone and contained within its bounds the
territory now in Park
Place, Green Ridge, and Providence.
On September 9, 1833,
Nathaniel Cottrill and Elisha D. Potter
deeded the society a
lot, situated about where William Von
Storch's residence now
stands on North Main Avenue, for $1,000.
On this a church was
built in 1833-34, which was destroyed by a
tornado on July 3, 1834.
The destruction was so complete that
the society did not
attempt to rebuild. The trustees at the time
were Alvin Dana, Samuel
Griffin, and Egbert B. Mott.
After this the society
worshiped in an old schoolhouse on the
opposite side of the
street from the wrecked church for a short
Providence, Scranton 915
time, and then went to a
school building on the east side of the
river, located on the
hill on East Market Street, not far from the
tracks of the Delaware
and Hudson Railroad. The society con-
tinued to worship there
until the winter of 1845-46, when it was
permitted to occupy the
"Bell Schoolhouse," on the west side of
the river, located on
North Main Avenue opposite Weston Place.
A revival that winter
added much to the society. Shortly after
this the Presbyterians erected
a chapel on the corner of Church
and Oak Streets, and,
having received some help from Methodists
in the enterprise, gave
the Methodists the use of their building.
The society used this
building until it secured a church of its own.
On September 20, 1850,
Edmund Griffin and wife Eliza, in
consideration of $10
deeded to Artemas Miller, William Silkman,
A. B. Silkman, James
Mott, Ebenezer Leach, and L. W. WykofI,
trustees of the
Methodist Episcopal Church of Providence bor-
ough, the lot for the
church. Mr. Griffin was a native of this
place, and lived at New
York at the time he gave the lot to the
society. The church was
dedicated on April 21, 1853, Rev.
George Peck preaching in
the morning and Rev. D. A. Shepard
in the evening. The
building was of brick, 36x52, with a vesti-
bule. A large entrance
admitted to the vestibule, and two smaller
ones admitted from the
vestibule to the auditorium. The pulpit
was between these two
doors in the front end of the church. At
the rear of. the audience
room the choir occupied elevated seats.
The basement was not
finished at this time.
After spending $2,000 in
putting the pulpit into the back part
of the audience room,
reversing the pews, building a place for the
choir over the vestibule,
retinting the walls, and making some
minor improvements, the
church was reopened on May 28, 1865.
Rev. R. Nelson preached
in the morning and Rev. Caleb Wright
in the evening. Six
hundred dollars was raised during the day.
In 1867 an addition
12x40 was built on the rear of the basement
to better accommodate
the Sunday school.
In 1872 the front of the
building was extended twenty feet,
the tower constructed,
entrance rearranged, choir removed to
the right of the pulpit,
basement finished under the whole build-
ing, at a cost of
$7,000. The church was reopened on Thursday,
October 17, 1872. Bishop
Wiley preached in the morning and
Rev. B. I. Ives in the
evening. In 1886 $1,300 was spent in
painting and putting in
stained-glass windows. The next year
the floor was inclined,
new pews purchased, and the walls deco-
rated, auditorium
recarpeted, and the basement thoroughly re-
modeled, the whole
costing $2,000. The chandeliers in the audi-
916 Wyoming Conference
torium were put in more
recently by Miss Amy Mulley's Sunday
school class of boys.
The pipe organ was purchased in 1892, and
in 1893 $2,000 was
expended in reseating the auditorium and
needed repairs.
On Wednesday, January 1,
1902, the society celebrated its
"semicentennial,"
at which time addresses were made by several
former and neighboring
pastors and $1,650 indebtedness can-
celed. After spending
$2,500 in building an alcove back of the
pulpit for the organ and
choir, finishing the audience room in oak,
putting on a steel
ceiling, decorating the walls, and purchasing
new pulpit furnishings,
the church was reopened on Sunday,
October 11, 1903. Rev.
A. Griffin, D.D., preached in the morning
from Ezra v, 3, and Rev.
M. D. Fuller, D.D., preached in the
evening from Luke ix,
32. An interesting Sunday school rally
was held in the
afternoon.
In 1848 a small, unpretentious
parsonage was built on North
Main Avenue near Weston
Place. When Providence separated
from Pittston in 1849
the society paid Pittston for its share in
the house. In 1863, the
parsonage lot being a large one, a part
was sold and the proceeds
used in enlarging the parsonage. In
1884 a large and
commodious house near the church was pur-
chased for $5,000. The
old parsonage was sold for $2,000, and
proceeds used in the new
purchase. In 1887 this property was
sold and the present
parsonage, standing between the last named
and the church, was
built.
The Ladies' Aid Society
was organized in 1858, and the
Woman's Foreign
Missionary Society in 1870.
The Quarterly Conference
has licensed the following: L. C.
Floyd, P. R. Tower, J.
B. Sumner, J. B. Sweet, C. A. Benjamin.
The years 1860, 1862,
1873, and 1885 may be mentioned, among
the many, as years of
more than ordinary revival interest.
Pastorates
1849, _____; 1850, Ziba
S. Kellogg; 1851, H. Brownscombe;
1852, H. Brownscombe, J.
H. Cargill; 1853, Charles Perkins, S. S.
Kennedy; 1854-55, J. F.
Wilbur; 1856-57, G. M. Peck; 1858,
J. W. Munger; 1859-60,
A. H. Schoonmaker; 1861-62, H.
Brownscombe; 1863, G. H.
Blakeslee; 1864-65, G. M. Peck;
1866-67, George Peck;
1868-69, S. W. Weiss; 1870-72, W. J.
Judd; 1873-74, W. Bixby;
1875-76, L. Cole; 1877-79, R- W. Van
Schoick; 1880, W. L.
Thorpe; 1881-82, L. C. Floyd; 1883-85,
A. J. Van Cleft; 1886,
S. C. Fulton; 1887-89, G. Forsyth; 1890-
94, M. D. Fuller;
1895-99, W. Edgar; 1900-03, G. A. Cure.
Simpson, Scranton 917
Scranton, Pa. — Simpson
A class was organized
here prior to 1849 and formed a part of
the Pittston Circuit.
From 1849 to 1854, inclusive, it was served
by the pastor of
Providence Circuit, and from 1856 to 1861 it
was a part of Lackawanna
Circuit, becoming a charge in 1862.
In 1853 preaching
services were held monthly in the old brick
Baptist church, of which
Rev. Mr. Mott was pastor. In 1855
preaching services were
held in the same church biweekly. When
Lackawanna Mission was
created in 1856 it consisted of Lacka-
wanna, Taylorville, and
Hyde Park, services being held at Lack-
awanna in the morning,
Taylorville in the afternoon, and Hyde
SIMPSON CHURCH, SCRANTON [photo]
Park in the evening. At
this time the services were taken to the
old schoolhouse which
stood on the site now occupied by the
church. This property
was purchased by the society in 1857 for
$1,000, and in 1859 a
parsonage was built by the side of the
schoolhouse church. In
1860 the schoolhouse church was sold
to H. Krigbaum, who
moved it to Chestnut Street, and converted
it into a double
dwelling. It may be seen at Nos. 217 and 219
Chestnut Street. A brick
church 40x60 feet was built, which
was dedicated in July,
1861, Rev. D. W. Bartine, of Philadelphia
Conference, preaching
the dedicatory sermon.
On the night of February
14, 1869, the church and parsonage
were consumed by fire.
The church and parsonage were valued
at $8,500, and the
society had but a little while previous to the fire
918 Wyoming Conference
freed itself from debt.
There was but $1,100 insurance. The
work of rebuilding began
at once. As soon as the basement was
completed it was
dedicated on Sunday, February 27, 1870, with
sermons by Rev. R.
Nelson in the morning and Hon. Caleb
Wright in the evening.
The pastor during the year 1870 traveled
throughout the
Conference raising funds for the struggling
church. The church was
completed, and dedicated on February
22, 1872, Rev. W. P.
Abbott, D.D., preaching in the morning and
Rev. B. I. Ives, D.D.,
at night.
The financial panic
which swept over the country in the seven-
ties greatly embarrassed
the society, as it had a large debt to
struggle with ($17,000).
On March 13, 1881, a service was held
and over $13,000 was
subscribed, which covered the indebtedness
at that time. On
February 22, 1883, a jubilee service was held,
recognizing the fact
that the debt had been fully paid. The even-
ing service of the day
was unique. The pastor received sixty-
eight on probation,
baptized forty, and received five into full
membership. The pastor
was presented with a gold watch and
a purse of $142, and his
wife with a fifty-dollar dress and a purse
of $30. Addresses were
then made by Revs. Messrs. Thorpe,
Hiller, Peck, and Lewis.
In 1888 the tower was
discovered to be unsafe, and the society
determined to rebuild
the front of the church. The entire front
of the church was torn
away and a more imposing and larger
front erected. In doing
this the audience room was lengthened
about twenty feet. At
the same time the auditorium was re-
modeled, handsomely
decorated, and reseated. The building was
rededicated on February
15, 1890. The total cost of these im-
provements was $16,054.
The sum of $3,666 had been raised
prior to this day, and
during the day $9,388 was raised, leaving
$3,000 unprovided for.
On December 7, 1890, at 5 p. m., the
church was discovered to
be on fire. The interior of the building
was destroyed. The loss
on the building was covered by the in-
surance, but there was a
loss on the organ, the finest in the city
at the time, which was but
partly insured. The Sunday school
library was also ruined.
The church was reopened on Sunday,
May 10, 1891, Rev. W. H.
Pearce, D.D., preaching in the morn-
ing and Rev. M. S. Hard,
D.D., at night.
A steam-heating plant
was installed in 1902.
The parsonage, valued at
$4,500, was built in 1873.
The Sunday school was
organized in 1857, and numbered
about sixty. Its library
numbered about seventy-five volumes,
and the society being
poor could not afford a suitable receptacle
St. Paul's, Scranton 919
for the books. The
librarian, accordingly, carried the library to
his home at the close of
each session of the school.
Joseph A. Ladd, Issachar
Pawling, Isaac Miller, W. H. Owen,
William Munson, Stephen
W. Blatchley, and John M. Acker
constituted the first
board of trustees, the last named also acted
as chorister over
twenty-five years.
On October 15, 1890, the
court granted the petition of the so-
ciety to change its name
from "First Methodist Episcopal Church
of Hyde Park" to
"Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church of
Scranton, Pa."
Allis Mission. During
the fall of 1894 cottage meetings were
commenced in this neighborhood
under the direction of the pas-
tor. One year later a
Sunday school was organized, and Sunday
evening preaching
services instituted by W. H. Crawford, an
exhorter. Lots 90x150
feet on the corner of Keyser Avenue and
Luzerne Street were
donated by M. H. Dale, and in August,
1896, a chapel was built
which will seat seventy-five people. The
membership is reported
with that of Simpson Church, and the
property is held by the
trustees of Simpson Church. The Sunday
school superintendent is
F. S. Crawford.
Simpson Church
entertained Wyoming Conference in 1867,
and again in 1884.
In the years 1876, 1885,
and 1897 extraordinary ingatherings
were reported.
Pastorates
1862-63, W. J. Judd;
1864, R. Van Valkenburg, F. L. Hiller;
1865, F. L. Hiller;
1866-67, L. W. Peck; 1868, D. A. Shepard;
1869, F. L. Hiller;
1870, F. L. Hiller, S. J. Austin; 1871, F. L.
Hiller; 1872, _____;
1873, I. B. Hyde; 1874-76, R. W. Van
Schoick; 1877-79, W. L.
Thorpe; 1880-82, R. W. Van Schoick;
1883, A. L. Smalley;
1884-85, G. M. Colville; 1886, S. Moore;
1887-88½, G. W. Miller;
1888½-90, O. P. Wright; 1891-95, L. C.
Floyd; 1896-1900, J. B.
Sweet; 1901-03, H. C. McDermott.
Scranton, Pa. — St. Paul's
This society is the outgrowth
of a cottage prayer meeting in-
stituted on Slocum Flats
by the Adams Avenue pastor in 1884.
After holding meetings
in private houses a while, the services
were taken to school
building No. 11 on Pittston Avenue,
where a Sunday school
was organized. The growth of the work
920 Wyoming Conference
demanded the erection of
a building suitable for the work. A
lot on the corner of
Cedar Avenue and Cherry Street was pur-
chased of William
Connell in 1886 for $500. Rev. John Davy,
a superannuate member of
New York Conference, living in Scran-
ton, was placed in
charge of the work. A chapel was erected in
1887 costing $1,500.
Some time before the completion of the
building John Rogers,
who had taken great interest in the Sun-
day school, was killed
in the mines. In his memory the chapel
was called "The
John Rogers Mission Chapel." In 1888 Rev.
C. S. G. Boone, a local
preacher, was given charge of the work.
ST. PAUL’S CHURCH, SCRANTON [photo]
In 1889 Rev. J. W.
Nicholson was appointed assistant pastor of
Adams Avenue Church,
with the understanding that he was to
have charge of the
south-side work. In 1891 the church appeared
among the appointments,
taking the name of Cedar Avenue
Church in 1892, and St.
Paul's in 1902.
A parsonage was built on
Cherry Street in 1893 costing $1,700,
$500 of which was raised
at the time. In 1894 an extension
16x26 feet was built on
the rear of the church, which gave much-
needed additional room.
The church was reopened August 25,
1894, Rev. S. H. Adams,
of Jamestown, preaching the dedicatory
sermon, and Rev. L, C,
Floyd conducting the dedicatory service.
Shavertown, Pa. 921
Time developed the fact that
the church property was not lo-
cated so as to render
the work of the society most efficient. Ac-
cordingly, a lot was
bought of Mrs. Joseph K. Harvey, on Feb-
ruary 15, 1902, located
on the corner of Pearl Street and Pittston
Avenue. The lot is 90x160
feet, and was secured for $1,500.
The comer stone of the
present church was laid on August 7,
1902, by Rev. A.
Griffin, D.D. The pastor delivered the address
of the day. The church
and parsonage join and cost $8,500. The
old property on Cherry
Street was sold to the Scranton Button
Company for $2,500. The
dedication occurred on November 16,
1902. Rev. C. M. Giffin,
D.D., preached in the morning and Rev.
H. C. McDermott, D.D.,
at night. Mr. J. W. Powell managed the
finances during the day
and secured $6,300 in subscriptions. The
windows are all
memorials.
Pastorates
1891-92, J. W.
Nicholson; 1893-94, E. L. Santee; 1895-97,
J. L. Race; 1898-1903,
F. P. Doty.
Shavertown, Pa.
This charge was formed
in 1891 by taking Huntsville from the
Lehman Circuit,
Trucksville from Dallas, and Shavertown from
Luzerne.
The charge was called
Trucksville until 1896, when the name
was changed to
Shavertown.
Shavertown was opened in
1890 by the pastor at Luzerne.
There is no church at
Shavertown, but the parsonage is located
there and was built in
1894, costing $1,200. Jacob Shaver had
supervision of its
construction.
Huntsville class was
organized as early as 1820. The church
was built in 1870, and
dedicated on November 22 of that year by
Rev. W. H. Olin, D.D. It
is called "The Van Loon Methodist
Episcopal Church,"
because Mr. James Van Loon, of Kingston,
contributed largely
toward its erection.
Trucksville appears
among the preaching places on Wyoming
Circuit in 1818. The
church here is supposed to have been built
about fifty years ago.
On July 22, 1853, Jacob Rice and wife
Sarah, in consideration
of $100, deeded three quarters of an acre
of land to Jacob Rice,
John P. Rice, William Booth, Asa Rice,
Daniel Harris, John
Wall, and W. C. Hageman, trustees of the
Methodist Episcopal
Church at Trucksville.
Several revivals have
strengthened the charge.
922 Wyoming Conference
Pastorates
1891, W. Rawlings;
1892-94, Clark Callendar; 1895-96, N. J.
Hawley; 1897-98, J. W. Price;
1899-1900, P. Houck; 1901-02,
L. T. Van Campen; 1903,
W. H. Stang.
Taylor, Pa.
The class at Taylor was
organized about 1853 by the pastor
of Pittston Circuit, and
was a part of Pittston charge until the
formation of Lackawanna
Mission in 1856, when it became a part
of that charge and
remained so until it became a charge in 1876.
The society became
incorporated on December 30, 1882, with
Alexander Connell, Fred
Courtright, and Robert Linney trustees.
The society built its
parsonage first. On February 24, 1882,
the Delaware,
Lackawanna, and Western Railroad gave the so-
ciety a site for a
parsonage on Main Street 38x150 feet. The
TAYLOR CHURCH [photo]
house was built in 1882
at a cost of $1,200. In 1885 $400 was
spent in improving it.
After worshiping forty
years in the Presbyterian church the
society built a church
costing $5,400, which was dedicated on
October 30, 1892. The
lot corner of Main and Taylor Streets,
was purchased from the
Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western
Railroad Company for
$600. The deed, however, was not exe-
cuted until July 23,
1894. On Saturday evening prior to the
dedication Rev. J. A.
Faulkner preached in the old church. The
morning sermon on Sunday
was by Rev. M. S. Hard, D.D. In
Tunkhannock, Pa. 923
the afternoon Drs. Park
and Floyd, and former pastors Faulkner,
Santee, La Bar, and Olver,
made addresses, and in the evening
Rev. W. H. Pearce, D.D.,
preached. A mortgage of $600 was to
be carried and $1,250
raised, which was readily done.
The years 1886 and 1890
were great revival years.
Pastorates
1876-78, E. L. Santee;
1879-81, A. C. Olver; 1882-84, I- B.
Wilson; 1885, R. J.
Kellogg; 1886, T. P. Halstead; 1887-91,
J. A. Faulkner; 1892, I.
J. Smith; 1893, W. W. Smith; 1894-96,
F. A. King; 1897-98, W.
Frisby; 1899, F. Gendall; 1900-02, C. B.
Henry; 1903, E. L.
Santee.
TUNKHANNOCK, Pa.
A class was formed at a
Mr. Fancher's on Tunkhannock
Creek as early as 1802.
We are unable to state the location of
this class relative to
the present society, but the class was a part
of Wyoming Circuit. Some
years prior to 1828 religious services
were held by the
Methodists of Tunkhannock in the Keating
schoolhouse, there being
no church edifice in the town at that
time. The class was
first part of Wyoming Circuit, subsequently
a part of Bridgewater;
following this it was on Springville
Circuit, and in 1843
became a charge.
In 1828 there were but
seven members in the class. During
the year, under the
labors of "Elder David Holmes, D.D.," there
was a revival in the
community which added sixteen members
to the society. In 1833
Henry Stark donated the society a lot
on the corner of Bridge
and Church Streets. Members of the
society went to the
woods and prepared timbers for the frame of
the church, which was
raised and inclosed, when the work was
discontinued. The
church, "after being half finished, was sold
by the sheriff,
redeemed, and after standing five or six years
in an unfinished and
dilapidated condition," was finally finished
after a severe struggle,
and dedicated in December, 1842. A re-
vival followed the
dedication which resulted in over one hundred
conversions. The church
was 56x72 and conformed to the style
of the times, a gallery
on three sides, high pulpit, and pews with
doors. It was sold in
the sixties, converted into a dwelling house,
and in 1868 destroyed by
fire.
When Tunkhannock became
a charge in 1843, Washington
Stansbury and William H.
Jenkins were made class leaders, and
Peter Sharp, P. M.
Osterhout, Henry Stark, and Nicholas
Stevens were appointed stewards.
The first Quarterly Confer-
924 Wyoming Conference
ence was held on
November 25, 1843. At this time Mount
Vernon and the Shaw,
Stark, and Jenkins neighborhoods were
preaching places on the
Tunkhannock charge.
On October 20, 1868,
Rev. D. C. Olmstead laid the corner stone
for the present church,
and the building was dedicated on April
10, 1869, Bishop Ames
preaching in the morning and Rev. B.
I. Ives in the evening.
The church cost $12,500, $3,200 of which
was raised on the day of
dedication. The day following was
Sunday, when the bishop
again preached in the morning, and
TUNKHANNOCK CHURCH [photo]
Mr. Ives in the evening
gave a temperance address of great
power, holding the
audience two and a half hours. In 1888 $3,500
was spent in improving
the church, which was rededicated on
June 6, 1888, by Bishop
Foss. Among the improvements at this
time were the extension
of the building, and the fitting up of a
commodious class and
Epworth League room. Since 1899 the
auditorium has been
carpeted, papered, a new organ purchased,
and the building lighted
by electric lights. The organ is the gift
of Mrs. P. S. Billings,
her son W. P. Billings, and her daughter
Mrs. J. C. Thayer, in
memory of the husband and father, P. S.
Billings, who was a
prominent official of the church many years.
Wanamie, Pa. 925
The parsonage was built
in 1879 at a cost of $1,500. It has
since been improved and
repaired several times.
Good revivals were
witnessed in 1852-53, 1855, 1863, 1867,
1869, 1886, and 1900.
In the middle of the
Conference year of 1846 Rev. P. S. Wor-
den was moved to
Kingston, and Rev. Thomas Wilcox filled out
the year. In 1848
Tunkhannock was with Springville. Rev. H.
R. Clarke resigned his
pastorate in December, 1871, and Rev. J.
L. Race filled out the
balance of the year.
In 1873 a $1,200 debt
was paid, and from 1892 to 1895 $1,800
of a $2,100 debt was
paid.
Pastorates
1843, H. F. Rowe; 1844,
D. G. York; 1845-46, P. S. Worden;
1847, L. S. Bennett;
1848, with Springville; 1849-50, H.
Brownscombe; 1851, D. C.
Olmstead; 1852-53, J. F. Wilbur;
1854, L. D. Tryon; 1855,
F. S. Chubbuck; 1856-57, C. Perkins;
1858, I. D. Warren;
1859-60, B. B. Emory; 1861-62, A. H.
Schoonmaker; 1863-64, L.
Peck; 1865, J. V. Newell; 1866-67,
J. L. Legg; 1868-70, S.
F. Brown; 1871, H. R. Clarke; 1872-73,
J. L. Race; 1874-75, J.
K. Peck; 1876-77, S. W. Weiss; 1878,
George Comfort; 1879-80,
G. M. Colville; 1881-83, S. F. Brown;
1884-86, W. J. Hill;
1887-89, G. C. Lyman; 1890, H. M. Cryden-
wise; 1891, J. F.
Warner; 1892-95, W. M. Hiller; 1896-97, J. C.
Leacock; 1898-1903, H.
H. Wilbur.
Wanamie, Pa.
The territory within the
bounds of this charge was formerly
a part of the Newport
Circuit, and subsequently a part of Han-
over, becoming a
separate charge in 1886.
The society worshiped in
the old "Center" church (Lutheran)
some time before
building. Squire Vandemark gave a site, and
a church was built on it
in 1853, which cost about $1,200. This
building was thoroughly
renovated in 1881, and in 1889 $700
was spent in building
two wings to the church and making some
minor improvements. The
church was reopened on December
22, 1889, Rev. W. M.
Hiller preaching the sermon and Rev. R.
W. Van Schoick
conducting the dedicatory services.
The site for the present
church was purchased of the Lehigh
and Wilkes-Barre Coal
Company and Richard Morris, one half
from each, and cost
$900. The church has a basement nicely
fitted for social work,
and an attractive auditorium above it. The
926 Wyoming Conference
building cost $4,500,
and was dedicated by a festival of dedica-
tion in March, 1902.
In 1888 one hundred conversions
were reported, and in 1898
there were thirty
accessions.
James A. Dewey has been
superintendent of the Sunday school
many years.
Alden. The class was organized
a number of years before the
church was built, and
worshiped in the schoolhouse. In 1890 the
Delaware, Lackawanna,
and Western Railroad Company gave the
society a building lot,
upon which a church was built costing
$2,800. The building was
dedicated on Sunday, June 29, 1890.
Rev. A. Griffin preached
in the morning and Rev. George Forsyth
in the evening. In the
afternoon a children's meeting was held
addressed by Joseph
Evans and Revs. J. K. Peck and R. W. Van
Schoick. The sum of
$1,800 was raised during the day.
In 1899 a revival added
twenty-five to this society.
Thomas Turner has served
as Sunday school superintendent
many years.
Pastorates
1886, George Greenfield;
1887, R. P. Christopher; 1888-89,
D. A. Sanford; 1890, W.
Keatley; 1891, W. Keatley, B. R.
Hanton; 1892, W.
Keatley; 1893-94, J. Madison, J. H. Brunges;
189s, T. M. Furey;
1896-97, J. A. Transue; 1898-1903, F. D.
Cornell.
Waverly, Pa.
Waverly was the center
of the old Abington Circuit. This
territory was first
served by the preachers of Wyoming Circuit.
The first Methodist
preaching place in this section was at Mr.
Leach's in 1818. (See
Chinchilla.)
The Waverly class was
organized in 1832 by Rev. Samuel
Griffin, with the
following members: Owen Wight and wife,
Nehemiah Tinkham and
wife. Rev. S. Griffin and wife, Mrs.
Elvira Whaling, and Ann Stevens.
Services were held in a
schoolhouse, standing
near the residence of Colonel J. G. Fell,
which still stands and
is used as a dwelling house. Among the
members who joined the
church later were William La Bar and
wife, J. S. Mershon and
wife, Jane Tinkham, Sarah J. and Celinda
Stone, Rhoda M. Jones,
Mary A. Sherman, W. R. Finch and wife,
A. M. Coon and wife,
Mary Thompson, Benjamin Knight,
A. J. Stone and wife,
Deborah Bedford, Dr. A. Bedford, Lois B.
Waverly, Pa. 927
Gorman, Elizabeth
Palmer, Rebecca White, Elizabeth Bailey,
N. N. Dean and wife.
Deborah Bedford was converted and
joined the Ross Hill
class in 1788, and lived an irreproachable
Christian life
eighty-one years, dying in 1869 in her ninety-
seventh year.
This territory was undoubtedly
a part of Wyoming Circuit
from 1818 to 1831
inclusive. We have given us a list of pastors
serving Waverly and
contiguous places as follows: 1832-33,
Samuel Griffin; 1833-34,
B. Ellis; 1836-37, William Reddy; 1838-
WAVERLY CHURCH [photo]
39, B. Ellis; 1840, D.
F. Reed. We are unable to harmonize this
list of appointments
with anything. They are not given in the
Minutes, and do not
correspond with those published of Canaan,
Bridgewater, Pittston,
or Wyoming Circuits.
When Abington Circuit
appeared among the appointments in
1841 it contained the
following preaching places: Abington
Center (Waverly), West
Abington, Factoryville, Corners School-
house, Shook
Schoolhouse, Bald Mount, Breeches Pond, North
Abington, Yellow
Schoolhouse, Clarksville, Wallsville, Green-
woods, and Red
Schoolhouse — thirteen places. Later the Red
Schoolhouse was dropped,
and Post Town and White School-
928 Wyoming Conference
house added. This
circuit comprised the territory now in
Waverly, Wallsville,
Nicholson, Factoryville, Falls, Newton, and
Clark's Summit charges.
In 1871 the name Abington
was changed to Waverly. Dalton
was attached to Waverly
for a while.
The society became
incorporate on October 20, 1843, as "The
Methodist Episcopal
Church of Abington Center, Luzerne
County, Pa.," with
Gerton Hall, Samuel Griffin, Benjamin
Knight, Andrew Bedford,
Leonard Hopfer, Owen Vought, and
Norman Phelps trustees.
The church was erected
in 1842. On February 27, 1881, after
an outlay of $1,000 in
improving the building, it was reopened.
Rev. D. Copeland, D.D.,
preached in the morning and Rev. W. H.
Olin, D.D., in the
evening. The building was extensively re-
paired in 1886. In 1890
the church was hit by lightning, after
which $1,000 was spent
in building a new tower, putting in new
windows, decorating the walls,
and painting the exterior. The
church was reopened on
Sunday, December 14, 1890, Rev. J. E.
Perry, of the Waverly
Baptist Church, preaching to the united
congregations.
Waverly entertained the
Wyoming Conference in May, 1857.
The parsonage property
was bought in 1852, and the house has
been greatly improved
since.
Clark's Green. Preaching
services were held here as early as
1841, and the class
organized some time before 1848. This place
was an appointment on
the Abington Circuit. In 1865 Clark's
Green, Leach's Flats,
and Ackerley's were taken from Abington
Circuit and constituted
a charge. Shortly afterward Ackerley's
was merged with Leach's
Flats and Shultzville taken on. In
1883 Clark's Green went
back to Waverly charge.
"The Methodist
Episcopal Church of Clark's Green" was in-
corporated on July 14,
1868, George Swallow, James S. Wagner,
Albert I. Ackerley,
Giles Leach, Erastus D. Larue, William Al-
worth, and David Cosner
being the first trustees. The church
was dedicated on Thursday,
February 25, 1869, and cost between
$3,000 and $4,000. Rev.
B. I. Ives preached the dedicatory
sermon. In 1880 $350 was
spent in improving the building, and
in 1886 it was again
greatly improved.
During the time Clark's
Green was an appointment it was
served as follows:
1865-67, Parley H. Scovill; 1868-69, J- B.
Davis; 1870-72, O. M.
Martin; 1873-74, S. J. Austin; 1875-77,
F. A. King; 1878-80, G.
C. Lyman; 1881-82, G. T. Price.
West Nanticoke, Pa. 929
Pastorates
1841, D. F. Reed; 1842,
John Mulkey; 1843-44, C. Perkins;
1845-46, C. E. Taylor;
1847, _____; 1848, T. Wilcox; 1849, A; H.
Schoonmaker; 1850, J. F.
Wilbur, E. F. Roberts; 1851, J. F.
Wilbur; 1852-53, A.
Bronson; 1854, L. Cole; 1855-56, D. Wor-
rall; 1857-58, S. S.
Barter; 1859-60, H. Brownscombe; 1861-62,
Asa Brooks; 1863, D. C.
Olmstead; 1864-65, C. E. Taylor; 1866-
68, F. L. Hiller;
1869-71, J. G. Eckman; 1872-73, A. C. Bowdish;
1874, L. W. Peck;
1875-77, G. A. Severson; 1878-79, A. W.
Cooper; 1880, G. C.
Lyman; 1881-82, W. Treible; 1883-84, S. J.
Austin; 1885-87, F.
Gendall; 1888-89, S. Jay; 1890-91, J. B.
Sweet; 1892-96, F. H.
Parsons; 1897-98, J. B. Sumner; 1899-
1903, M. S. Godshall.
West Nanticoke, Pa.
For some time prior to
1872 a union Sunday school had been
held at West Nanticoke,
running only through the warm weather,
and was under the
leadership of some Baptist people. Rev. Mr.
Sheerer, a Baptist
minister, preached here some time, having his
appointment once in four
weeks. In the fall of 1872, at the sug-
gestion of Jacob
Bonawitz, a Methodist Sunday school was or-
ganized, which was to
continue through the winter. The school
had one hundred members,
and Mr. Bonawitz was the superin-
tendent. The school has continued
until now. After the organiza-
tion of the school F.
Gendall, Frank Gray, Henry Gray, Mr.
Dexter, and Charles
Haynes, local preachers from Plymouth,
alternated in preaching
here morning and evening. In 1874 West
Nanticoke was placed
with Nanticoke for pastoral oversight, and
continued with Nanticoke
until 1886, when it became a charge
with C. S. Lane as
pastor.
The church was built in
1886 at a cost of $1,500, exclusive
of the lot. This
building was 32x46 feet. In 1900 the work of
remodeling began. It was
raised, thirteen feet added to its width,
and a basement
constructed under the whole for Sunday school
and social purposes. A
tower was built, stained-glass windows
put in the building,
circular pews purchased, auditorium carpeted,
new organ purchased, and
several minor improvements made, the
whole costing $2,600.
The church was rededicated on Sunday,
August 18, 1901. Rev. A.
Griffin, D.D., preached in the morning,
Rev. A. J. Van Cleft in
the afternoon, and Rev. W. H. Hiller in
the evening. During the
day $2,000 was raised, thus providing
for the total cost of
the improvements.
930 Wyoming Conference
The parsonage was built
in 1893 at a cost of $1,200. It has
since been somewhat
enlarged.
In 1890, after serving
the charge a few months, the pastor
resigned, and Rev. E. B.
Singer was sent to fill out the year.
Before the year closed
one of the greatest revivals the charge has
known was enjoyed. In
the fall of 1892 the pastor left to attend
Drew Theological
Seminary. The balance of the year was sup-
plied by Rev. J. B.
Santee.
Pastorates
1886, C. S. Lane;
1887-89, W. Keatley; 1890, L. W. Peck;
1891-92, F. N. Smith;
1893-94, A. D. David; 1895-97, Clark
Callendar; 1898, P.
Houck; 1899-1902, E. L. Santee; 1903, J. R.
Wagner.
West Pittston, Pa.
The rapid growth of West
Pittston rendered it necessary to
organize a society and
build a church. The Pittston church, seeing
this, took measures to
organize such a society, which was done
on January 27, 1873.
Rev. I. T. Walker, who was pastor of the
Pittston church at the
time, and under whose direction the divi-
sion was effected,
writes: "The male members met pursuant to
public notice at the
Vine Street schoolhouse, in West Pittston, on
Monday, January 27,
1873, at 7:30 p. m., for the purpose of
electing trustees of the
newly formed church, and also for the
purpose of organizing a
Quarterly Conference. The meeting was
called to order by B. D.
Beyea, who, after prayer by Rev. George
Peck, D.D.,... nominated
nine persons as trustees, who were
duly elected." The
board elected consisted of B. D. Beyea, C. S.
Stark, Charles Pugh, B.
Downing, W. R. Sax, David Jones,
B. Sharkey, Thomas Ford,
and G. B. Rommel. After election
the board organized by
electing B. D. Beyea president, C. S.
Stark secretary, and
Thomas Ford treasurer.
In forming the new
society the Pittston church gave one hun-
dred and ninety-three of
its members, which was one half, less
one, of its total membership.
The first board of stewards con-
sisted of Thomas B.
Lance, W. R. Sax, Chandler Williams,
Thomas Nichols, Henry
Searle, Peter Rinker, William McCabe,
B. D. Beyea, and H. C.
Dewey. Following this the usual
Disciplinary committees
were appointed.
The society proceeded to
build a church on the corner of Wyo-
ming and Montgomery
Streets. The building committee con-
sisted of Thomas Ford,
B. D. Beyea, and W. R. Sax. The con-
West Pittston, Pa. 931
tract was let to William
O'Malley, and the work pushed rapidly
forward, so that when
the Conference of 1873 appointed a pastor
to West Pittston he
found the basement of the church completed,
formally opened, and
occupied by the society. The Sunday school
was organized soon after
Conference. The building was com-
pleted, and dedicated on
August 26, 1873. Rev. R. Nelson, D.D.,
preached in the morning
from Heb. i, 14, and Rev. B. I. Ives in
the evening from Rom.
xii, 1. The entire cost of building and
WEST PITTSTON CHURCH [photo]
lot was $42,000, $31,000
of which was raised on this day, the
balance having been
previously raised.
It was found in 1878
that the society was $8,000 in debt. The
financial depression in
the country had rendered some unable to
meet their subscriptions.
The indebtedness was unpaid subscrip-
tions and accumulated
interest. In 1883 $6,074 was paid on
indebtedness, reducing
the debt to $1,926. The building was
repaired and beautified
at a cost of $3,500, and the pews supplied
with Hymnals. In 1890
$1,250 was expended in grading the
grounds, laying walks,
and building a barn. In 1895 $1,200 was
spent in repairs upon
the church. In 1900 the building was ex-
tensively repaired. The
stairway from the vestibule to the
932 Wyoming Conference
auditorium was"
improved, the floor of the auditorium inclined,
pews remodeled, the
whole church refrescoed, a new pipe organ
purchased, auditorium
carpeted, and a steam-heating plant in-
stalled at a total cost
of $10,000. The reopening services were
held on September 9,
1900. The pastor preached in the morning
and Rev. C. E. Mogg,
D.D., in the evening. The sum of $S,ooo
was raised during the
day, the balance having been previously-
raised.
The parsonage was
erected in 1884 at a cost of $3,500.
West Pittston
entertained the Wyoming Conference in 1878,
1889, and 1901.
While most of the
pastors have witnessed gracious seasons of
revival work, the
revival during the winter of 1885-86, in which
over three hundred were
converted and two hundred and ten
received on probation,
is spoken of as the greatest revival in the
history of the church.
Pastorates
1873-74, W. B. Westlake;
1875-77, S. Moore; 1878-80, A.
Griffin; 1881-83, O- W.
Scott; 1884-86, J. G. Eckman; 1887-89,
H. M. Crydenwise;
1890-92, C. A. Benjamin; 1893-94, O. H. Mc-
Anulty; 1895-98, W. G.
Simpson; 1899-1903, O. L. Severson.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa. — Bennett Chapel
This society is a
mission of the Franklin Street Church, and
is the outgrowth of a
Sunday school which was started by Walter
J. Symons, Andrew E.
Symons, and Alfred Johns on January 8,
1893, with a membership
of sixty-nine. The sessions of the
school were held in the
Baltimore Public School building on
Scott Street. John V.
Brownell was the first superintendent.
Until going into the
chapel the work was limited to the session
of the school and a
prayer meeting each week. After the chapel
was opened one preaching
service was held each Sunday until
1901. At this time the
assistant pastor of Franklin Street was
given charge of this
work, and since then there has been a
morning and evening
sermon.
The site for the church
was purchased of the Delaware and
Hudson Canal Company for
$1,800. The corner stone of the
chapel was laid by Rev.
J. R. Boyle, D.D., assisted by other
clergymen, on September
20, 1894. The chapel cost $4,500, and
was dedicated on January
20, 1895, Rev. G. E. Reed, LL.D.,
preaching the sermon. It
is located on the corner of North
Grand Street and
Stillard Lane, and is called Bennett Chapel
Bennett Chapel,
Wilkes-Barre 933
because Mrs. Priscilla
Bennett gave $2,400 toward its construc-
tion, the balance of the
$4,500 being raised among the Franklin
Street people. The
purchase price of the lot is yet to be
provided for.
The bell in this church
was given to the society by the Central
Church and hung in the
Ross Street Church for years. It was
given to the Ross Street
Church by the Franklin Street Church,
BENNETT CHAPEL, WILKES-BARRE [photo]
and according to Rev.
William Wyatt was used in the Old
Ship Zion.
The Sunday school
superintendents have been John V.
Brownell, Byron G. Hahn,
Professor Pringle, and C. W. Miller.
Prior to 1901 the
following preached here: C. H. Seward,
C. W. Smith, John C.
Tennant, and Jonas Underwood. In 1901
C. H. Seward served the
society, and D. S. McKellar in 1902-03.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa. — Central
This society had its
origin in the Woodville Sunday school,
which met on the upper
side of Academy Street near Maine. The
school met in the
schoolhouse, which was swept by the women
every Saturday
preparatory to the Sunday service. Mother
Wood was the first
superintendent, and was followed by George
Moore. Increasing
population made a church necessary. In
934 Wyoming Conference
1855 the project took
form. Rev. William Wyatt purchased the
lot on Ross Street. The lot
was purchased of Matthew Handley
for $500, the deed for
which was executed on August 12, 1858,
William Wood, Matthew
Wood, William Dickover, John C.
Frederick, and Lord
Butler being trustees of "The Methodist
Episcopal Church of
Woodville" at the time. The ladies insti-
tuted a fair and supper
to pay for it. Moses Wood, commonly
called "Father
Wood," an English Wesleyan who settled here.
OLD CENTRAL CHURCH AND PARSONAGE, WILKES-BARRE [photo]
left a bequest of $500
to aid in building a church on his old farm.
The ladies raised at
least $1,500 toward the church enterprise.
Mrs. Wyatt went to White
Haven and Carbondale and secured
enough money to put the
roof on the building. In the spring of
1857 the building was so
far completed as to permit the use of the
basement. Mr. Wyatt
regarded this enterprise as one of the
greatest achievements of
his ministry. He and his wife did
invaluable service in
the starting of the project.
In 1857 the charge
appeared among the appointments. The
pastor at once began to
formally organize the society, canvassing
Central Church,
Wilkes-Barre 935
that section of the city
for members. Forty members, mostly
from Franklin Street,
were secured, and the church properly
organized, with
trustees, stewards, and committees. "The
minutes of the official
board give the following account of the
first meeting: 'Pursuant
to a call by the pastor, Rev. Asa Brooks,
the board of stewards met
in the Woodville Church on July 7,
1857, in the evening, A.
Brooks in the chair, Josiah Bennett
secretary. Members
present: Josiah Bennett, William Dickover,
Matthew Wood, John
Taylor Bennett. On motion, J. T. Bennett
and Silas Finch were
elected to take the collections in the church,
and Matthew Wood was
elected treasurer. On motion, the ter-
ritory was divided for
the stewards to collect money for the
salary of A. Brooks, and
Main Street is to be the hne. J. T. Ben-
nett and Matthew Wood
took the south side and Josiah Bennett
and William Dickover the
north side. On motion, adjourned.'
Of the first board there
are still living two — William Dickover,
who is with us, and John
Taylor Bennett, who is living in South
Dakota."
Revival services were
commenced which resulted in three hun-
dred conversions, and
over two hundred were added to the
church. Rev. W. P.
Abbott was one of the converts and joined
the church. Rev. A. H.
Wyatt received his first license to preach
from this society, and preached
his first sermon here on the word
"Eternity."
The building was
completed so as to be dedicated in 1858.
The bell from the
"Old Ship Zion" was secured and put in the
steeple. However, this
is not the first bell which was in the old
church, but one put in
after the Methodists came to be sole owners
of the church. This bell
is now in the Bennett Chapel, having
been given to the
society by the Central Church.
In 1867 the building was
extended twenty-eight feet and
otherwise improved. It
was reopened on December 25, 1867,
Rev. D. W. Bartine,
D.D., of Newark, N. J., preaching in the
morning and Rev. J.
McKendree Reiley, D.D., of Danville, Pa.,
preaching in the
evening.
From 1879 to 1881
$10,300 was paid on indebtedness, and
during the next three or
four years the remaining indebtedness
of $3,000 was canceled.
In 1883 $3,530 was spent
in repairs, and the church was re-
opened on Thursday,
November 1, 1883. At 2 p. m. Rev. L. C.
Muller preached, and in
the evening a platform meeting was held
addressed by Revs. J. G.
Eckman, L. C. Floyd, and H. M. Cry-
denwise, and letters
were read from several former pastors,
936 Wyoming Conference
A parsonage was built on
Franklin Street where William
Tuck's residence stood
latterly. This property was sold about
1869, and in 1872 the
parsonage on Ross Street was built, costing
$5,500.
During the Conference
year 1885-86 two hundred and sixty
probationers were
received and one hundred and twenty-three
into full membership.
This revival season was as noted as that
under Rev. Asa Brooks's
administration. Almost every pastor
has seen accessions by
revival work, yet these two seasons were
the greatest.
The society was called
Woodville Church until 1867, when the
NEW CENTRAL CHURCH, WILKES-BARRE [photo]
name was changed to Ross
Street, and in 1881 the present name
was adopted.
The site for the present
church was purchased of the Oster-
hout Library Association
for $17,000.
Ground was broken for
the present church on June 9, 1.899,
and on September 26 of
that year Bishop Fowler laid the corner
stone. The services were
held in the Armory, after which the
audience marched to the
building site and witnessed the laying
of the stone. The
building and furnishings cost $97,000. On
Sunday, March 24, 1901,
the pastor preached at the morning
service, baptized
forty-two adults, received eighty-eight proba-
tioners into full
membership, ninety-four on probation, and
twenty-three by letter.
In the evening Rev. W. H. Pearce, D.D.,
preached, and the sermon
was followed by the sacrament of the
Lord's Supper. This day
was the beginning of a rich week's
Derr Memorial,
Wilkes-Barre 937
services. During the
week various denominations in the city
conducted services with
representative preachers from abroad
preaching the sermons. On
one evening Bishop Fowler delivered
his lecture on Lincoln.
Sunday, March 31, was the culmination
of the feast. Bishop
Fowler preached in the morning from Rom.
viii, 14, and in the
evening Rev. E. M. Mills, D.D., preached from
John iv, 36. During the
day $45,000 was subscribed to provide
for the unprovided cost
of the enterprise. At the close of the
evening's offering the
church was dedicated by Bishop Fowler.
The Ladies' Aid Society
has been an important factor in the
work of this church from
the beginning. In the new church
project it raised over
$3,000, the Sunday school $4,000, the Ep-
worth League $100, and
the Young Lady Workers $2,000.
E. H. Jones gave $5,000
to pay for the organ as a memorial to
his father and mother — Richard
Jones, his father, was the first
chorister. Mrs. Elijah
Wadhams gave $1,000 as a memorial to
her husband. Many other
gifts might be mentioned, though not
so large, equally as
commendable.
William Dickover was a
member of the first official board, and
still continues to be on
the board.
The old church was sold
to the Atlantic Land Company for
$10,000. The old
parsonage is still owned by the church. The
present parsonage is
adjoining the church.
Matthew Wood and Hon. E.
C. Wadhams each served as Sun-
day school
superintendent about fifteen years. Ralph Wadhams
was elected in 1892, and
still serves the church in that capacity.
Pastorates
1857-58, Asa Brooks;
1859-60, N. W. Everett; 1861-62, S. W.
Weiss; 1863-65, H. Wheeler;
1866-68, J. G. Eckman; 1869-71,
L. C. Floyd; 1872-73, L.
W. Peck; 1874-76, F. L. Hiller; 1877-78,
D. C. Olmstead; 1879-81,
H. M. Crydenwise; 1882-83, S. C.
Fulton; 1884-86, G. W.
Miller; 1887-90, A. Griffin; 1891. O. P.
Wright; 1892-93½, W. H.
Reese; 1893½-95½, J. W. Webb;
1895½-1903. C. E. Mogg.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa. — Derr Memorial
The growth of the city
northward made it advisable to open
work in that section of
the city. Accordingly, in 1869, a Sunday
school was started.
Having no chapel, the sessions of the school
were held in the
schoolhouse on Courtright Avenue. Later in
the same year Charles A.
Miner, George B. Kulp, and Edward
938 Wyoming Conference
H. Chase donated a lot
on North Frankhn Street, and still later
Mr. Kulp gave an
adjoining lot. A chapel was erected in 1870
costing $2,700. This was
a mission of the Franklin Street
Church, workers going up
there each Sunday to carry on the
work. Theron E. Burnett
was the first superintendent, and was
succeeded as follows: P.
M. Carhart, Charles H. Wheelock, Dr.
W. G. Weaver, Dr. E.
Shelp, Dunning Sturdevant, A. C.
Montanye, Frank Puckey,
I. C. Kline, Oliver Phillips, W. E.
Doran, Rev. A. D.
Decker, Rev. J. E. Bone. G. W. James, the
present incumbent, has
served since 1893. Miss Lenore Perry
has made a great record
as superintendent of the infant depart-
ment during the last
twenty years.
DERR MEMORIAL, WILKES-BARRE [photo]
On March 22, 1888, a
charter was granted to "The Fourth
Methodist Episcopal
Church of Wilkes-Barre," and the following
persons were named as
the trustees: George B. Kulp, president;
Frank Puckey, secretary;
J. W. Lear, A. P. Krum, J. T. Morgan,
W. E.' Doran, and A. C.
Montanye. By the action of Conference
this became a separate
charge in 1891. Franklin Street Church
manifested a tender
interest in her child by defraying a large per
cent of the annual expenses
for several years. As the society
grew the amount given
was decreased until the new society could
get along without
assistance.
Mrs. Mary D. Derr, an
estimable lady of the Franklin Street
Methodist Episcopal
Church, seeing the need of a better-located
and more commodious
church, donated the ground on North
Main Street, and $5,000
toward the erection of a suitable church,
Franklin Street,
Wilkes-Barre 939
to be a memorial to her
deceased husband, Mr. Henry H. Derr,
Esq., who had always taken
an active interest in the welfare of
the society. The church,
which cost $10,000, was dedicated on
November 27, 1892, by
Bishop Goodsell. The sum of $2,500 was
raised on the day of
dedication. Subsequently (1893) the old
chapel on Franklin Street
was sold to the German Lutherans for
$2,000. In 1893 a
parsonage project was launched. Some
funds were raised and
plans for a house secured. The house
was built in 1894,
costing $3,000, and the pastor moved into it on
December 20. In 1895 the
house was improved by papering,
putting in mantels,
sideboard, cementing the cellar floor, and the
grounds graded and
fenced. In 1900 $1,800 was spent in church
and parsonage
improvements.
The winters of 1893,
1895, 1898, 1899, and 1902 were seasons
of gracious ingathering.
Pastorates
1891-92, J. E. Bone;
1893, A. F. Chaffee; 1894, G. A. Place;
1895-98, J. F. Warner;
1899-1903, W. J. Hill.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa. — Franklin Street
It is evident that the
preachers of Wyoming Circuit began
work here at an early
day. William Colbert preached in the
meetinghouse at
Wilkes-Barre on the afternoon of Sunday, May
19, 1793. This
meetinghouse was the one at Hanover Green. It
was never finished, but
was used regularly for preaching services.
Asbury preached in it
when he visited Wyoming. He also
preached in the
courthouse during this visit (1793).
During the first year of
Alward White's service on Wyoming
Circuit, 1795, a
remarkable revival occurred in the borough of
Wilkes-Barre, in which
large numbers were converted. The
work moved all classes
of society, reaching some of the best
families and also some
of the hardest characters of the place.
This revival added
strength to the struggling society.
One night, and it must have
been about this time, while Valen-
tine Cook, the presiding
elder, was preaching, an attempt was
made to smoke the
society out with brimstone matches. The
matches were made by
winding cloth, or paper, around a stick
and rolling it in melted
brimstone. "Their plan was to light these
matches and throw them
down the chimney. The person who
was appointed to carry
out the project went upon the roof and
lit his matches, and
from some cause let go his hold and slid
940 Wyoming Conference
down the roof, and came
to the ground matches in hand in the
midst of his companions.
The fumes of the burning brimstone
almost stifled them, and
they had to run for life. It did not
molest the meeting, for
the worshipers knew nothing about it
until the persons
concerned in the scheme told of it themselves,
when it made a great
deal of amusement for both saints and sin-
ners." This
incident occurred while a preaching service was
being held at a Mr.
Mann's residence. This Mann was a friend
of William Colbert. Here
he frequently stopped. It is probable
THE “OLD SHIP ZION,” – WILKES-BARRE [drawing]
that his home was the
first in the county seat that was opened to
Methodist preachers.
On Sunday, April i6,
1797, Mr. Colbert records the fol-
lowing: "Preached
in the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre to an at-
tentive congregation,
some of whom, I suppose, were deists. I
felt myself for some
time at a loss for a subject to address these
people on. I wanted to
preach pointedly against deism, but was
afraid I should not do
justice to such an important subject; and
as it seemed probable
that a great part of them professed to
believe the Bible, I
spoke to them accordingly, and concluded
with a word to
deists." In the Minutes Mr. Colbert is appointed
to Chester Circuit. He
appears, however, to have done some
Franklin Street,
Wilkes-Barre 941
work in this section,
and some upon Bristol Circuit, and was
appointed to Wyoming in
1798.
The Old Ship Zion was
located on the public square, as will be
seen by the map below.
The pen drawing is not made to a scale.
It is simply for the
purpose of showing the position of the church
on the square. Nor is it
intended to show the relative size of the
various buildings,
simply location. The church was a wooden
structure, 45x65, with a
steeple, and its front was about three
rods from the street.
The building was started in 1800, inclosed
in 1803, and finished in
1812. The work of building proceeded
slowly because the
people were poor and funds were not readily
secured. Perhaps the
controversy in regard to the ownership of
lands had something to
do with the delay. The first-named cause
LAYOUT OF TOWN SQUARE –
WILKES BARRE [drawing]
was undoubtedly the
prevailing one. The old ferry house was
sold and the proceeds
used in building the church. In 1808 "The
Wilkes-Barre
Meetinghouse and Bank Lottery" was organized
for the purpose of
securing funds. While the church received
some help from the
lottery, the scheme was a failure, and some
of its promoters lost
quite heavily. The building was erected with
the understanding that
it should not be under the exclusive con-
trol of any
denomination. While it is true that the Congrega-
tionalists may have
subscribed more than others, yet it is also
true that some
Methodists gave, and some who belonged to
no Church gave, and all
with the understanding that it was
942 Wyoming Conference
a union church. The
building was occasionally used by the
Methodists.
After being inclosed Ephraim
Chambers preached a funeral
sermon in it. A wag
observed, "That will be a Methodist church,
you'll see." This
was somewhat prophetic.
In 1826 Rev. George Peck
was in charge of the work at
Wilkes-Barre, and says:
"The society had suffered serious in-
conveniences for the
want of a suitable place of worship, and
during the present year
they petitioned the county commissioners
to give them a lease of
a hall in the upper part of the courthouse
for a chapel.... The
lease is dated March 8, 1827. It held for
ten years, and the
consideration is the nominal sum of ten cents
per annum." The
rental of the courthouse was undoubtedly be-
cause it was becoming
more and more difficult to get the use of
the church when desired.
In 1829 the Congregationalists became
Presbyterians as a
condition upon which Rev. Nicholas Murray
accepted the pastorate.
The Presbyterians held the keys to the
church. At a meeting
held in the courthouse it was resolved to
hold services biweekly,
and subsequently the society resolved to
enforce its claim to a
partial use of the Old Ship Zion. The war
was on. The
Presbyterians claimed exclusive ownership, and the
Methodists claimed it
was a union church, "toward the construc-
tion of which they had
liberally contributed."
"The Presbyterians
held the keys, and the doors were locked
against the invading
Methodists. Committees were appointed
by the outs, but the ins
refused to confer. At length the followers
of Wesley assembled in
the courthouse, and resolved to enter the
church at all hazards.
They, accordingly, with the approval of
their pastor, the Rev.
Morgan Sherman, appointed Joseph Slocum
[grandfather of George
S. Bennett], Abraham Thomas, David
Collings, and others, a
committee to storm the Lord's house. Mr.
Slocum forced the
windows with a crowbar, and Mr. Thomas,
like Samson at Gaza,
lifted the door from its hinges. The people
entered the building,
and, by direction of James McClintock,
Esq., attorney for the
Methodists, broke the locks from pulpit
and pew doors. Mr.
Sherman then approached the sacred desk,
and commenced religious
worship by giving out the hymn com-
mencing:
"'Equip me for the war,
And teach my hands to fight.'
"In his opening prayer
the minister thanked the Lord for many
things, but particularly
that they could 'worship under their own
vine and fig tree, few
daring to molest, and none to make them
Franklin Street,
Wilkes-Barre 943
afraid.' At the close of
his discourse Mr. Sherman said, 'With
the permission of Divine
Providence, I will preach in this house
again in two weeks from
to-day.' Whereupon Oristus Collins,
Esq., arose and said,
'At that time this church will be occupied by
another congregation.'
Mr. Sherman repeated his notice, and
Mr. Collins repeated his
reply, after which the benediction was
pronounced, and the
congregation quietly dispersed.
"On another
occasion the Methodists entered the church on
Sunday morning in advance
of the Presbyterians. Just as the
Rev. Benjamin Bidlack
was about giving out the first hymn
Matthias Hollenback,
Esq., accompanied by the Rev. Mr. Tracy,
a Presbyterian
clergyman, entered the house, and walking a few
steps up the aisle thus
addressed the preacher: 'What are you
doing here?' 'Page 144,
short meter,' said Mr. Bidlack. 'What
is that you say?'
inquired Mr. Hollenback. 'I say, page 144,
short meter,' was the
reply. Whereupon Mr. Hollenback and
the Rev. Mr. Tracy
retired from the church, while Mr. Bidlack
proceeded with the
religious exercises." — Annals of Luzerne
County, pp. 284-286.
This religious war,
which is somewhat amusing to us of
the present day, was
drawn to a close by the Methodists pur-
chasing the interest of
the Presbyterians in the church in 1831
for $1,000.
It may be of interest to
note that the Wilkes-Barre class paid
$7.30 quarterage in
1803, $11.25 in 1804, $11.16 in 1805, and
$15.96 in 1806.
The class formed a part
of Wyoming Circuit from its birth
until 1826. After the
first quarter of this year had passed, upon
petition of the society
in Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes-Barre was made a
charge with Hanover and
Plains as outside preaching places, and
appeared in the Minutes
as a charge in 1827 with George Peck as
pastor. During 1828 and
1829 Wilkes-Barre formed a part of
Wyoming Circuit, and in
1830 appeared as an appointment again,
and remained. Mr. Peck
received for his work in 1827 less
than $100.
The society was formally
organized on September 16, 1830.
"Charles Nash,
preacher in charge; Robert Miner and Comfort
Cary, exhorters. The
stewards were Gilbert Barnes, Sharp D.
Lewis, Ziba Bennett,
Robert Miner, and David Thompson. The
class leaders were
Gilbert Barnes, Robert Miner, Thomas Brown,
Lorenzo Ruggles, David
Thompson, and Samuel Gaskill. Trus-
tees, John Carey, Joseph
Slocum, Ziba Bennett, Sharp D. Lewis,
Lewis Worrall, Abraham
Thomas, and Anning O. Cahoon."
944 Wyoming Conference
As the church grew it
became necessary to have a place for
holding social meetings,
as there was no room in the church
suitable for that purpose.
In 1836 Mr. Ziba Bennett built a
suitable building and
gave it to the society. It was situated on
North Main Street, on
the site of J. H. Montanye's tin store.
Mr. Montanye's tin shop
in the rear of his store is the old prayer
room built by Mr.
Bennett, it having been moved back to make
room for the store.
Sunday school and preaching services were
held in the church, and
the other services in this building. The
thrifty growth of the
society soon made it manifest that more
commodious quarters must
be had. Accordingly, a committee
was appointed in 1846 to
solicit subscriptions for a new church.
Mr. Ziba Bennett donated
a lot on Franklin Street. Sufficient
OLD FRANKLIN STREET
CHURCH, WILKES-BARRE [photo]
subscriptions having been
secured to warrant the trustees in com-
mencing work, a building
committee was appointed in 1848, con-
sisting of Ziba Bennett,
Lord Butler, William Wood, and Sharp
D. Lewis. In 1849 the
old church on the square was sold to O.
Collins, G. M. HoUenback,
and Charles Dennison for $600. It
was torn down and
removed. The new church on Franklin
Street was built of
brick, 56x80 feet, 33 feet high. It had two
class rooms and an
infant class room. The floor of the audi-
torium seated about 650,
and the gallery would seat about one
Franklin Street,
Wilkes-Barre 945
hundred. The church was
dedicated on Thursday, October 4,
1849. Rev. Jesse T. Peck,
D.D., of Dickinson College, was the
preacher of the day,
preaching in the morning from Psa. cxlv,
5-14, and in the evening
from Psa. xc, 5. The building cost
$8,200. On the day of
dedication $1,000 was raised to provide in
full for its cost. At the
time of its erection it was the finest and
most commodious building
of its kind in this section of the
country.
In 1874 Mrs. Priscilla
Bennett offered to build a commodious
and modern Sunday school
room on condition that the congrega-
tion should raise a like
amount to remodel the old church or build
a new one. The
proposition was gladly accepted. The com-
NEW FRANKLIN STREET CHURCH, WILKES-BARRE [photo]
mittee having charge of
the project consisted of George S. Ben-
nett, B. G. Carpenter, D.
L. Rhone, P. Abbott, and H. H. Derr.
The lot upon which the
Sunday school room was built was given
by Ziba Bennett and Mrs.
Martha Phelps. The building, ex-
clusive of site, cost
$27,500. The ladies of the society contributed
the furnishings of the church
rooms in the building. It was
dedicated on February
11, 1877. Rev. J. H. Vincent preached in
946 Wyoming Conference
the morning from Col.
iii, i6. The afternoon service of the Sun-
day school was of extraordinary
interest. Addresses were made
by Rev. J. H. Vincent
and Chaplain McCabe. This Sunday
school room was the
first of its kind built in the East, and was
modeled after Mr.
Miller's school room at Akron, O.
Gilbert Barnes was
superintendent until 1850, when Lord But-
ler was appointed, but
he held the office only one year. In 1852
Ziba Bennett was
elected, and served until 1867, when W. W.
Loomis was elected,
serving one year. In 1868 the present in-
cumbent was elected,
George S. Bennett. We have no other
record of so long a term
of service within our Conference. The
school adopted the
graded system a number of years ago, and
has made a great success
of it. The school has also made a great
success of its
missionary collections. Mrs. Priscilla Bennett was
the assistant
superintendent many years.
The corner stone for the
present church was laid Tuesday,
September 18, 1883, at
which time Rev. Henry Brownscombe
read an historical
address, and Rev. Y. C. Smith made an ad-
dress. Rev. J. O.
Woodruff, the pastor, laid the stone, assisted
by several neighboring
pastors. The building, which cost $72,000,
was dedicated on Sunday,
October 4, 1885. Bishop Foster
preached in the morning
from Rom. i, 20, and at the close of the
sermon conducted the
dedicatory service. Rev. J. H. Vincent,
D.D., preached in the
evening from John xxi, 21, 22. Mrs.
Priscilla Bennett gave
the organ, costing $4,800, also two memo-
rial windows, one in
memory of her mother and one in memory
of her sisters, Mrs.
Mary Lee Paine and Mrs. Margaret Lee
Doolittle. In 1886
$2,147 was expended in repairs, and in 1897
$5,400 was spent in
repairs and improvements, at which time Mrs.
Bennett replaced the
first organ by the present one, which cost
$10,000. This organ has
64 stops and 2,273 pipes.
In 1818 it was resolved
"that a preacher's home be built on this
circuit (Wyoming), and a
committee appointed to select the
ground. In 1819 trustees
were chosen to receive the title to a
lot in Wilkes-Barre, given
by Samuel Thomas, of Kingston, on
which to build a
preacher's house. It was built on land now
occupied by the Harvey
law building on North Franklin Street."
On January 1, 1823,
George Lane and wife Sarah, in considera-
tion of $100, deeded a lot
on New Street, containing eleven or
twelve perches, to
Thomas Borbridge, Darius Williams, Jacob
Rice, Comfort Gary,
David Thompson, Gilbert Barnes, and
Myron B. Helm, trustees
of Wyoming Circuit. This is un-
doubtedly the lot
referred to in the quotation above. At the
Franklin Street,
Wilkes-Barre 947
separation of
Wilkes-Barre from the Wyoming Circuit, the
Wilkes-Barre society
paid the circuit $474 for its interest in the
property.
On November 16, 1835,
Edmund Taylor and wife Mary, in
consideration of $1,000,
deeded to John Carey, Joseph Slocum,
Ziba Bennett, Lord
Butler, Robert Miner, and James C. Heeme,
trustees of the
Methodist Episcopal Church of Wilkes-Barre, a
property on the west
side of Franklin Street, and about one
hundred feet from Union
Street, which was used as a parsonage
until an exchange was
made with Mr. Bennett for the present
one by the church. In
1903 several thousand dollars were spent
in improving the present
house.
Ziba Bennett, Lord
Butler, and Sharp D. Lewis were a trio of
stalwart men in the
early history of the church. Ziba Bennett
was a class leader for
some time; his wife, however, led the class.
The first Mrs. Bennett,
as the last, appears to have been a re-
markable woman.
This society has
entertained the following Conferences: Gen-
esee, in June, 1827;
Oneida, in August, 1843; Wyoming, in June,
185s, April, 1862,
April, 1870, April, 1874, April, 1886, and
March, 1892.
The church has been
visited by a number of sweeping revivals.
For its interest in Derr
Memorial and Bennett Chapel, see
sketches of each.
Pastorates
1827, George Peck;
1828-29, with Wyoming Circuit, 1830-31,
Charles Nash; 1832, H.
F. Rowe; 1833-34, Selah Stocking; 1835,
J. M. Snyder; 1836, R.
Fox, M. Pearce, sup.; 1837, R. Fox;
1838-39, David Holmes, Jr.;
1840, D. W. Bristol, J. Barnes;
1841, D. W. Bristol, E.
Owen; 1842, John Seys; 1843, D. Holmes,
Jr.; 1844-45, D. A.
Shepard; 1846-47, Bostwick Hawley; 1848-49,
T. H. Pearne; 1850-51,
Nelson Rounds; 1852-53, George Peck;
1854, W. Wyatt; 1855-56,
H. Brownscombe; 1857-58, J. M.
Snyder; 1859, Z.
Paddock; 1860-61, Jacob Miller; 1862-63, J. A.
Wood; 1864-66, Y. C.
Smith; 1867-68, H. Brownscombe; 1869-
71, T. M. Reese;
1872-73, A. H. Wyatt; 1874-76, W. H. Olin;
1877-79, J. E. Smith;
1880-82, S. Moore; 1883-85, J. O. Wood-
ruff; 1886-87, A. H.
Tuttle; 1888, A. H. Tuttle, J. E. Bone,
assistant; 1889-90, W.
Phillips, J. E. Bone, assistant; 1891-95,
J. R. Boyle; 1896-1900,
W. H. Pearce; 1901, J. H. Bickford,
C. FL Seward, assistant;
1902-03, J. H. Bickford, D. S. McKel-
lar, assistant.
948 Wyoming Conference
Wilkes-Barre, Pa. — Parrish Street
In the early part of
1870 Rev. C. S. Alexander, under the super-
vision and with the help
of his brother A. D., who was then
stationed at Ashley,
began meetings in the Parrish Street school-
house. A great revival
followed and a class was formed, John
Benning, a member of
Ross Street Church, being appointed
leader. The class became
known as the Hill Class, and formed
a part of Ashley charge.
Soon after the revival the class began
to plan for a church
building, which was dedicated on March 17,
1872. In the spring of
1872 the class became a separate charge
known as the
Wilkes-Barre Mission, and Rev. D. Marvin (a
PARRISH STREET CHURCH, WILKES-BARRE [photo]
supply) became the
pastor. In the spring of 1873 the society had
thirty-two full members,
eleven probationers, and a church prop-
erty with a probable
value of $3,500, upon which there was a debt
of $1,300. From 1873 to
1875 the debt was reduced to $420.
In 1888 the church was
enlarged and improved at an expense
of $3,715, most of which
was paid before the spring of 1890.
The building was again
improved in 1901, at a cost of $3,000,
which amount was raised
on the day of reopening. Sermons of
the day were by Rev. B.
I. Ives, D.D., and Rev. A. Griffin, D.D.
The parsonage was built
in 1895, costing $4,500, $2,000 of
Sherman Street,
Wilkes-Barre 949
which was paid at the
time. Since the building of the house the
debt has been steadily
reduced.
The history of this
society has been characterized by extensive
revivals.
Pastorates
1872, D. Marvin; 1873-75,
H. Brownscombe; 1876-78, O. L.
Severson; 1879-81, E. L.
Santee; 1882, L. Jennison; 1883-85, H.
Brownscombe; 1886, J.
Underwood; 1887-89, E. L. Santee; 1890-
92, J. N. Lee; 1893, W.
B. Westlake; 1894-96, L. C. Murdock;
1897-1903, W. H. Hiller.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa. — Sherman Street
The first Quarterly
Conference of this society was organized
on March 19, 1888, at
which time the society had fifty members.
A lot was purchased on
Sherman Street and the corner stone of
the church laid by Rev. R.
W. Schoick on Wednesday, October
31, 1888, Rev. J. E.
Price, D.D., making the address of the occa-
sion. The church, which
cost about $4,000, was dedicated on
June 4, 1889, by Bishop
Foss. This church has received aid from
the Missionary Society
since its organization. It was organized
to do work among the
Welsh-speaking people, but its history has
not fulfilled
expectations. Shortly after organization, many of
its members, on account
of hard times, returned to Wales, or went
to some other coal region.
Subsequently a heated controversy,
occasioned by the
introduction of an English service on Sunday
evenings, militated
against a thrifty growth.
Pastorates
1888-90, Isaac Jenkins;
1891-94, Thomas Jenkins; 1895, J. B.
Williams; 1896-99, H. P.
Morgan; 1900-01, W. H. Hiller, E. M.
Jones; 1902, W. W.
Rothrock; 1903, H. L. Brenner.
Wyoming, Pa.
This society originally
formed a part of Wyoming Circuit. As
early as 1793 preaching
services were held at Philip Jackson's.
He lived on what was afterward
known as the Fisher Gay place.
The monument to those
who were massacred in the battle of Wy-
oming now stands on the
place. Mr. Jackson's wife was a mem-
ber of the society, and
he had once been. A Mr. Rosencrantz
lived where "the
old red house," or the "Captain Breese House,"
afterward stood, on the
bluff near the Wyoming depot. Both
of these places were
used as preaching places in the early days.
950 Wyoming Conference
In 1795 a quarterly
meeting was held at Mr. Jackson's. The
Quarterly Conference was
held upstairs. Mrs. Bedford says:
"We heard them
shouting and praising the Lord. My mother,
Betsy Dennison, Polly
Dennison, Clara Pierce, Polly Pierce, and
myself went into an
adjoining room and looked in, when we saw
them all lying on the
floor. The one near the door said: 'Sisters,
come in.' We went into the
room, and as soon as we entered the
place we all fell, so
wonderfully was the power of God manifested
on that occasion."
The love feast and sermon of the next day
were times of
refreshing, indeed. A gracious revival followed.
Dr. George Peck says he
took up work at New Troy (Wyo-
WYOMING CHURCH [photo]
ming) in 1818 which had
been neglected. Just how long it had
been neglected or to
what extent the society had suffered, and what
was the strength of the
society at that time, does not appear.
Prior to 1842 this class
worshiped in private houses and the
district schoolhouse.
About 1840 the Christians erected a church
which was subsequently
sold by the sheriff. This property was
deeded to the Methodists
on October 6, 1842, by Volney L. Max-
well and wife Lydia in
consideration of $10. The trustees at this
time were Ezra Breese,
John Goodwin, Philo Bowers, George M.
Peck, and John Jenkins.
The society was quite
weak until the revival of 1847, under the
labors of Rev. T. H. Pearne,
when Mr. William Swetland, Payne
Pettebone, and other
leading business men of the community
Wyoming, Pa. 951
were brought into the
church. That revival made the church
strong for a generation.
In 1848 the society,
with Exeter (West Pittston) and Forty
Fort as afternoon
appointments, became a charge, bearing the
name of New Troy, which
name it bore until 1861, when it was
given the name of
Wyoming. In the fall of 1848 $1,600 was spent
in putting a basement
under the auditorium for Sunday school
and social purposes, and
otherwise improving the building. In
1849 a parsonage lot was
bought for $450. A barn for the pastor's
use and one hundred and
fifty feet of horse sheds were built. In
1849-50 the parsonage
was built, the family of Rev. C. W. Gid-
dings living in it a
short time before Conference.
At the Conference of
1860 Kingston and New Troy were
united under the name of
New Troy and Kingston Circuit, and in
1861 the name was
changed to Wyoming and Kingston Circuit.
In 1864 the charge was
divided, since which time each point has
been a charge.
The old church property
was sold about 1881 to William Han-
cock for $4,900, and a
lot with a good sexton's house upon it was
purchased for $4,300.
The house was moved to the rear of the
lot, and in 1882 the
present parsonage was built, which with sheds
and outbuildings cost
$8,722.76. The church and furniture cost
$24,449, and was given
to the society by Payne Pettebone and
family. The bell,
costing $593, was the gift of Mrs. Alice Shoe-
maker Van Scoy, of
Kingston, and Mrs. Frances Shoemaker
Brownscombe, of
Wilkes-Barre, in memory of their parents Isaac
C. and Katherine Ann
Shoemaker, who had been honored mem-
bers of this society.
The church was dedicated on Wednesday,
July 18, 1883, Rev. T.
H. Pearne, D.D., preaching in the morning
and Rev. L. C. Muller in
the evening. In the afternoon a reunion
of former pastors and
friends added interest to the day.
In 1887 $600 was spent
in improving the parsonage.
On July 29, 1888, the
Isaac Shoemaker Memorial Chapel, at
West Wyoming, which cost
$2,250, was dedicated by Rev. R. W.
Van Schoick.
Pastorates
1848, B. Hawley; 1849,
C. W. Giddings; 1850-51, B. W. Gor-
ham; 1852-53, L. D.
Tryon; 1854-55, G. M. Peck; 1856, A. H.
Schoonmaker; 1857-58, H.
Brownscombe; 1859, Asa Brooks;
1860, Asa Brooks, W. J.
Judd; 1861, W. J. Judd; 1862-63, L.
Cole; 1864-65, J. La
Bar; 1866, H. Wheeler; 1867-69, A. J. Van
Cleft; 1870-71, S. W.
Weiss; 1872-73, R. W. Van Schoick; 1874-
952 Wyoming Conference
76, J. C. Leacock;
1877-79, F. L. Hiller; 1880-82, J. C. Shelland;
1883-85, Y. C. Smith;
1886-89, M. D. Fuller; 1890-94, G. C. Ly-
man; 1895-99, W.
Treible; 1900-01, S. Jay; 1902-03, W. T. Blair.
Yatesville, Pa.
This society is the
outgrowth of what was known in early days
as the "Thompson
neighborhood" class, of which Francis Yates
was the leader in 1825.
The original members were Francis
Yates, Daniel Bowman,
Jesse Gamer, George Price, William Day,
John Thompson, and their
wives. The class belonged to the
Pittston charge.
Services were held in private houses until the
Thompson schoolhouse was
built, and in that from its erection
until 1852, when the
place of meeting was changed to the Yates-
ville schoolhouse. At
this time the class was reorganized, and
consisted of Francis
Yates, Joseph Natrass, George Robinson,
and their wives, Sarah
Learch, and Rosetta Monk. Under the
leadership of Father
Yates the class increased and a Sunday
school was organized.
In 1862 a portion of the
society withdrew and organized a
Wesleyan Methodist
Church, erected a small church, and held
preaching services. In a
few years most of them returned.
In 1864 the society
commenced to build. The basement was
completed in 1865 so as
to be used for services. The building
was completed in 1874,
the dedicatory sermons being preached
by Revs. Thomas Harroun
and W. J. Judd.
The class became a
charge in 1874, and George Robinson,
Thomas Natrass, and
Francis Yates were the first trustees. At
this time the society
had thirty-five members.
On December 22, 1875,
Arthur W. Matthews deeded the society
a building lot for $350.
We suppose this to be the lot upon which
a parsonage was built in
1880, costing $1,000.
In 1886 $350 was spent
in improving church and parsonage,
and in 1892 $400 was
spent in paper, paint, carpets, lamps, pulpit
furniture, etc. The
church was reopened on Sunday, September
4, 1892, with elaborate
and interesting services.
On June 12, 1900,
Francis Yates deeded to the society as a gift
a block of houses valued
at $3,000..
Work was begun at Laflin
in 1888, and was continued some
years, and at one time
it seemed very probable that a church would
be built there.
Plainsville. The class
here was organized about 1831, and be-
longed to Pittston and
subsequently to Plains charge. The old
Yatesville, Pa. 953
brick building was
dedicated on February 13, 1845. The writer
of the memoir of Rev.
Miner Swallow says: "On a rising spot
of ground close to his
father's happy home was built a Methodist
church, and it was built
without a crushing debt on it, and Miner
Swallow worked every day
of its building; with his own hands
mixing the mortar,
wheeling stone, carrying brick, driving nails,
laying shingles. The
people were poor, and there was no Church
Extension Society, but he
was a whole society himself, and out
of his work is the
beautiful church that now is in Plainsville."
In 1887 a wooden
addition to the church was built costing $914,
and the property was
improved in 1902.
"The Methodist
Episcopal Church of Plainsville" became incor-
porated on December 4,
1885, with John C. Williams, H. D.
Smith, Peter Ashelman,
W. C. Creasy, and G. D. Clark trustees.
In 1881 the society
became a charge known as North Plains,
and in 1884 received the
name of Plainsville. In 1902 it became
a part of Yatesville
charge. Before it was attached to Yatesville
it was served as
follows, mostly students in Wyoming Seminary:
1880-82, Henry
Brownscombe; 1883, W. W. Smith; 1884-86,
H. D. Smith; 1887-89, L.
E. Van Hoesen; April, 1890, to Novem-
ber, 1890, J. K. Peck;
1891, A. C. Brackenbury; 1892, C. W.
Hoffman; 1893-94, G. A.
Warburton; 1895, C. D. Skinner; 1896-
98, W. H. Decker;
1899-1900, W. Gendall; 1901, Harry Kelley.
Pastorates
1874, J. G. Stephens; 1875-76,
G. M. Colville; 1877-79, W.
Treible; 1880-81, I. B.
Wilson; 1882-83, W. Keatley; 1884, J. A.
Faulkner; 1885, R.
Hiorns; 1886-87, J. E. Bone; 1888-89, L. W.
Peck; 1890, J. C. Hogan;
1891, S. Elwell; 1892-94, T. M. Furey;
1895-97, J. Madison; 1898,
L. W. Karschner; 1899, J. V. Newell;
1900-01, Harry Kelley;
1902-03, T. M. Furey.