society maintained its Congregationalism in this Presbyterian region. The early founders-the earnest Welshmen of North Wales and the steady New Englanders were men who cared more for principle than expediency. They were Congregationalists from principle and conviction. . . . But while they firmly held to their distinctive principles and polity, they exercised such a broad charity that any one who came to the neighborhood and desired Christian fellowship, found in this church and society a congenial home. . . . Thus, owing to the firm loyalty of the older men to their Congregational principles, and their broad charity in holding and defending them, they have kept the church vigorous and strong, and have drawn into it, and concentrated there, the whole religious life and sentiment of the community." * The first pastor of this church was the first preacher in the settlement, the Rev. John W. Browne, who was ordained pastor of the infant church in March, 1804, in the house of John Bennefield, in Crosby township, Hamilton county. Joab Comstock and Asa Kitchel were set apart at the same time as deacons. The ordination of the pastor, at least, was by a committee chosen by the church for the purpose. The church grew and prospered until 1810 or 1811, when their excellent pastor lost his life in attempting to cross the Miami river, in order to *MS. Letter. CHAP. V.] AN HONORABLE RECORD. 183. meet some ministerial appointment.* From about 1810 to 1817, there seems to have been a declension in the church. They had no pastor and no meeting-house. "But those that waited for the consolation of Israel failed not. Their hopes were centred in a covenant-keeping God, and they were not forsaken." † In 1817 the Rev. Rees Lloyd, of Ebensburg, Penn., a fellow-passenger in the "Maria" of some of the elders of this church, visited Paddy's Run, at the request of the church, and became its pastor in December of that year. He preached in Welsh and English, had large congregations, "and many turned to the Lord." Under a succession of pastors, the church at Paddy's Run has continued to live and prosper to the present time, when "it has a membership of one hundred and fifty-five, holds two regular services on the Sabbath, and the Sabbath school, and a weekly prayer-meeting. It pays a salary of $1,000 to the pastor, and is ever ready to aid any benevolent enterprise that presents its claims." ‡ Certainly a most creditable and honorable record. It might reasonably be expected that such a community as occupied Paddy's Run would give early and effective attention to education; and when we learn that from this small settlement * Chidlaw's Historical Sketch of Paddy's Run. Mr. C. was the pastor of this church for seven years, from 1836 to 1843. † Manual. MS. Letter from Rev. J. L. Davies. have gone out at least four ministers of the gospel and two foreign missionaries, one theological professor, several distinguished educators, besides lawyers, physicians, engineers and journalists, and two governors of States, we find our anticipations fully realized. The first school was opened in 1807, and Miss Polly Wiley received seventy-five cents a week for her salary, and was "boarded around." In 1809 a subscription school of a somewhat higher order was opened, at $1.50 per scholar for three months; and in 1810 the people built a log-cabin school-house, in which the children were taught to spell, and to read from the New Testament, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and The American Preceptor, while arithmetic was studied as far as "Rule of Three." These schools, after the New England plan, were kept for three or four months every year. In 1819 a higher grade of school was introduced, and two years later a high school and boarding school was established, and a great impetus was given to the work of education in the settlement, and indeed in all the neighborhood. A Union Library Association also was formed and chartered, and soon nearly every family in the settlement was found reading such books as Plutarch's Lives, Rollin's Ancient History, Josephus, Mungo Park's Travels, Lewis & Clark's Travels to the Pacific Ocean, Campbell on Miracles, Paley's Evidences of Christianity, and Butler's Analogy. One may make a shrewd guess as to the intel CHAP. V.] A TYPICAL WELSH CHURCH. 185 lectual character of a people of whom it can be said: "By examining the librarian's record, we find that these books were drawn out and read by almost every citizen of the two townships;" and he will be prepared to believe that "thus the intelligence of the people was greatly increased, and a desire for improvement was awakened in both old and young;" which has culminated in making the "Special School of Butler county" one of the very best in the entire State of Ohio. As early as 1819, five years before the American Sunday School Union was formed, the church at Paddy's Run had its Sabbath school, and it still has it. The history of this church has been given with this comparative fulness, not simply because of its intrinsic interest, nor for its supposed preëminence over other churches; nor even because it happens to be one of the three oldest Congregational churches in Ohio-but chiefly because it was originally largely Welsh, and is one of the three oldest Welsh Congregational churches in the United States. Ab uno, disce omnes. From this one you may learn, at least, the general characteristics of the whole eighty or more Welsh Congregational churches in this country. The town of Granville, in the centre of Licking county, Ohio-very nearly the exact geographical centre of the State has an interesting and instructive history of its own; and, what is still better, has found a faithful and capable historian.* Granville was first settled in the year 1805, by a company of emigrants from Granville, Mass., and the adjoining town, Granby, Ct. It was from the start a thoroughly religious enterprise, though there was a good deal of romance and enthusiasm mingled with the religious ele ments. A land company was first formed early in 1804, known as the Scioto Land Company. Agents were then despatched to Ohio, and about twentyeight thousand acres of fine, rich, well-wooded and beautifully variegated land were selected and purchased in the very centre of the State; and, to expedite the settlement of these lands, the company offered to take in exchange, at a fair appraisal, any Granville farm, and allow its owner a quantity of Ohio land of equal value; so that The Rev. Jacob Little, for nearly forty years pastor of the Granville church, wrote, in 1843-46, a minute history of this ancient Western church and settlement, from the organization of the company in Granville, Mass., in 1805, to the date of his history, July 29th, 1846. It was published in fifty-nine numbers in the Ohio Observer. I know not that it has ever been published in book form. For an opportunity to examine this history I am indebted to the venerable author, who was alive in 1874, and in the enjoyment of vigorous old age. He had the kindness to send this history, preserved in his scrap-book, all the way from Indiana, where he then lived, to Boston. If all the early Puritan settlements and churches of Ohio had found chroniclers like Mr. Little, it would be a comparatively easy task to write the history of Ohio.- Mr. Little has died since the above note was written. |