Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/175

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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUK COUNTIES

the pulpit on the death M r. Ingold in 1807* and iollowcd by K ev. Jacob Dicffenbach in 18 15. T he latter removed hi» fam ily to Espy* where a parsonage had been built for him* and entered upon a pastorate that covered but ten years* yet in that time he laid the foun* dations o f most of the Reform ed Churches in Columbia county. H is held o f labor included Bloomsburg* Briarcrcek* M i^invillc, Muncy* Nesco|>eck* Wapwallopen, Shamokin* Cata­ wissa* and several smaller ]K>ints. H is imme­ diate successor was K ev. M r. l^rosc* who died in office* o f malarial fever. Kev. Richard Fisher o f Catawissa preached at intervals until 1828, when K ev. Daniel S. Tobias became the pastor. Following came Revs. Henry Funk* WiUiam Goodrich* L. C. Shcip, F. J. Mohr, T. F. HofTmicr, G. D. Gurley* W alter li. Krebs, O. II. Strunck. S. R. Uridaibaugh. On March I* 1887, K ev. J. S. Wagner entered upon the duties of the pastorate of the Bloomsburg Reform ed Church. Owing to ill health he scr*cd only one year. Rev. William T. .uman was pastor from Ju n e i> 1889* to Ju n e 13, 1892. H e was succeeded by Rev, C. II. Brandt* who served from Feb. f* 1893* to Oct. 24. 3898. T he new parsonage w as erected during his pa>toraic. On Jan. I* 1899, Rev. John D. Thomas, D.* became the pastor, and continued his labors until Ma^* 1909. when he w as called to a charge in Ohio and w as succccdcn his duties Oct. I* 1909* and serving until 19 13. Rev. P. H. Hoover became pastor in the earJy part o f 1914. During the pastorate of Rev, D r. Thomas the church celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its establishment on the present sire at the corner o f Third and Iron streets* and the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Reform ed Church in Bloomsburg. T his cele­ bration w as held from Oct. 25 to 31* 1908. and was a most interesting occasion* not only to the members of the church* but to the entire community. A n excellent program was suc­ cessfully carried out. Some years ago a vocalioii w as presented to the church by M rs. M. E. Ent* and the same generous donor later supplanted the vocation with a much larger pipe organ, dedicated on Palm Sunday, 19 10, a s a memorial to her daughter, M rs. Fred Ikeler* her mother. Mrs. S. A. Petrikcn. and her grandparents, M r. and M rs. Daniel Snvdcr, Sr. T lic church building and parsonage were thoroughly repaired and much improved by desired alterations during the summer o f 1909. The oflkers of the church in 1 9 13 were the

follow'ing: Elders* X. U. F'unk, U. V, Chcrrington* l L. Sm ith; deacons* W. C. M austcF Icr* D. A. Lciby, H. K l^eiby. Prcsbytcricf%s E ven before the founding o f Bloomsburg by Ludw ig E y e r the Presbyterian denomina­ tion w as active in this section of the county. A s early as 1789 A sa Dunham* a native of Middlesex county* N. J.* and a Revolutionary soldier, bought a farm on the hillside near the site o f Buckhom* the birthplace later of the Pursel fam ily o f Bloomsburg. M r. Dunham lived there with his wife* mother-in-law and two brothers. While he w as aw ay from home one day the house ^urned and his entire family lost their lives. Some years later he married, the lady being his fifth wife. H e preached occasionally at the barn o f EUas Furman* be­ tween B loom sbu ^ and Espy* and at (he B ria r­ creek or H idlay Church. lie fore the organization of the Presbyterian congregation in the town o f Bloomsburg, in 1817* the people had been dependent on the generosity of the Episcopalians and Lutherans Tor the use of their houses o f worsliip. A fte r the organization the use of the Episcopal church was obtained fo r the nominal rental o f $7 a vcar. T h e first elders elected were Tames McClurc, Paul Lcidy and Peter Pursel, and they at once prepared to erect a church build­ ing. They bought (he lot now* occupied by the Manse on I'hird street and erected a 36 by 40 foot building, with a deep gallery around three sides. Some discussion arose whether the entrance should be from the rear, as was the custom* or from the street. T he new method prevailed. The congregation united with the Briarcreek and Shamokin Churches in extending a call to Rev. Samuel Henderson* his services lo be e<|uaily divided lietwccn the three churches* al­ though the Bloomsburg O m rch lu d nude preparations to provide the greater part of the sujiport. H e came the year o f organization and greatly assisted in (he building of the church. H e continued to sen*c the church un­ til 1824, when he w as succeeded by Rev. John Niblock, from 1824 to 18 26 : Rev. Jam es f*ewers, an Irishm an; Rev. M r. Crosby* an eastern­ er* the founder of the first Sunday school; Revs. Matthew B. Patterson* Robert Bryson* Ir^nn and Bigman. Rev. John P . Hudson* a Virginian, sera'cd from 1832 to 1838. and w as followed in quick succession by R evs. Tobcy and Daniel M. Barber. Then in the fall o f 1838 a call was