Wayne Township
Armstrong County Pennsylvania
Glade Run Presbyterian Church
The first clergyman to hold religious services in Wayne
Township was Rev. Robert McGarraugh, who was also the first Presbyterian
minister who preached the gospel east of the Allegheny river in what are now
Armstrong and Clarion counties. He held the first service in the barn of
William Marshall, Sr., in 1803, while on his way to the wilderness in the
northern part of Clarion Co. where he subsequently settled. Twice a year
thereafter he preached to this little congregation while on his journeys to
and from the meetings of the old Redstone Presbytery. In those days the
settlements were few and far between, and the pioneers marked the dates of his
visits by putting pins in the dates in the old almanacs.
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The church, which at first was called Cowanshannock, was
organized by four faimilies, those of James and William Kirkpatrick, William
Marshall and William Shields, in 1804. The early records of this, like many
other churches, were not kept in a book, but on loose pieces of paper, which
were preserved by the late George McCombs. They contain the minutes of the
sessions from Sept. 15, 1821, until Oct. 24, 1836. It is not known if any
members were admitted between 1804 and 1821. The admissions in the
last-mentioned year were twenty-one on examination and seven on letters. It is
not apparent whether any Presbyterian clergyman preached here even occasionaly
between the time when Father McGarraugh ceased to travel this route and the
advent of Rev. James Galbreath, who preached here a few times prior to 1820,
when Rev. David Barclay commenced preaching and continued about five years.
Source: The History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.
If you have any additional information on this church, please
send an e-mail to Amanda Foringer.
Contributed by Amanda Foringer
for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project
(http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)
Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
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