Record Type: Church Records

The Methodist Episcopal church at Garrett was erected in 1882, under the ministry of Rev. A. Freeman. Rev. I. C. Pershing, D.D., of Pittsburgh, preached the dedicatory sermon. This is a frame church, of Gothic style, and cost about one thousand dollars. The first trustees were:Dr. H. GareyNicholas ClemensWilliam BrownThomas Price, Jr.John Hocking, Sr.Thomas S. … Read more

The Meyersdale Roman Catholic church was built in 1849. There was no resident priest at the time. The original members of the church were:Joseph StaubAmbrose BreigMatthias LuhrieJoseph LuhrieFrancis LuhrieAnanias WetmillerMichael SmithDaniel BreigJoseph McKinzeyJohn McKinzeyPatrick McKinzey The first stationed priest was Father Patrick Brown, succeeded by Father James Fitzgerald, Father James Brady and others. The present … Read more

Meyersdale appointment of the Methodist Episcopal church was taken up in 1870, by Revs. S. T. Mitchell and D. J. Dana. Their successors have been Revs:R. M. FreshwaterW. A. StewartS. W. DavisJ. C. CastleJ. J. MoffittW. LongGeorge S. Holmes There were about fifteen original members. The first trustees were:James S. BlackJohn T. HockingJohn L. CurleyJohn … Read more

In October, 1869, Rt. Rev. John B. Kerfoot, D.D., LL.D., bishop of the Pittsburgh diocese, and Rev. Richard S. Smith, rector of St. Peter\’s church, Uniontown, determined to visit the towns of Somerset county with the ultimate view of establishing a mission in some of them. After holding services at Somerset, Berlin, Meyers\’ Mills and … Read more

The Zion Evangelical Lutheran church, Meyersdale, was organized by Rev. Eli Fare in 1852. The original members were:Joseph and Elizabeth KeimAlexander and Catharine WalkerJohn I. HicksCatharine GearyMary A. AlbrightHarriet HicksCatharine OlingerPeter KesslerChrist. ShiverMargaret SheetzBarbara YortyMary E. YortyWilhelmina SwearmanCatharine Herring The first church officers were Samuel Bittner, Alexander Walker, Joseph Keim and Joseph Baldwin.The pastors have … Read more

Amity Reformed church, Meyersdale, was organized about 1851, by Rev. Henry Knepper. Among the original members and officers were the following:Elder C.M. HicksSamuel FoustEliza HicksA.M. SheetzElizabeth SintrockHarriet MillerLisetta ScheuberLevi HeckertRebecca HeckertThe pastors have been Revs:Henry KnepperA.B. KoplinW.A. GringGeorge A. FickesJohn McConnellA.B. KoplinA.C. GearyL.D. SteckelJohn M. Schick The first house of worship was a union church, … Read more

The following history was written in 1889 by Rev. J. C. MELOY: Somerset, the county seat of Somerset County, is one of the most beautiful towns in Western Pennsylvania. It is delightfully situated on a sandy knoll looking out to the east upon a fertile scope of country and a mile away to the west, … Read more

Beam congregation of the Reformed church was organized June 14, 1844, by Rev. William Conrad, then of Berlin, Pennsylvania. The first officers were Abraham Beam and Christian Ludy, elders; Gillian Walter and Isaac Ankeny, deacons. There is no record of original members. The pastors have been Revs. D. B. Ernst, C. F. Hoffmeier, F. K. … Read more

Ben\’s Creek circuit of the Evangelical Association is situated mostly in Jenner township. The oldest church edifice in this circuit is St. John\’s, which was erected in 1875, during the pastorate of Rev. T. Eisenhower. Its cost was seventeen hundred dollars. Church officers: John Baker, George Swank, Jeremiah Gindlesperger; Membership at present; church, fifty-one; sabbath … Read more

Moses Fream, who had been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Hagerstown, Maryland, settled within one mile of where the church now stands, in the year 1792, and built what was then considered a large log house. In the second story he taught the first school that was opened in the township, and … Read more