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/262

 COLUM BIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES son of the English soldier mentioned before, is located n ear the Briarcreek township line, on the lan d u f the pioneer of the fam ily. G il­ bert H. F o w le r was the first postm aster and slorckeeTOr here and w as succeeded by his son, 2. T. Fow ler. T he present storekeeper is H en ry B o w e r, but the post office has been superseded by the rural m ail service. A chopmill and store are kept by M arvin V. Colder. W U h w G ro v e, or IVUlow Spri$igs, is a flag station on the D elaw are, Lackaw anna & W est­ ern railro ad and the terminus of the Miffiinville b rid ge. H ere is the handsome brick home of ) . C . C r y d c r and just below it, under the bank o f th e old canal, is one of the largest and m ost beau tifu l springs in the county. A s the bridge is o f recent construction and the electric ro a d has a station here, it is to be e x ­ pected that a village w ill some d ay stand upon this spot. H ie B r ia r C rcck F arm ers M utual Insur­ ance C o m p an y w as organized Ja n . i i, 1875, with L e v i A ikm an. presiden t; Sam uel N cy­ hard. s e c r c t a iy; G eorge Conner, treasurer. They held th eir offices for many years with success. T h e present officers a r e : A . W . Spear, p re sid e n t; H . H . B row n, secretary; C. H. Dildine. treasurer. T h e company is still in m ospcrou s condition. The societies of the township are Centre Grange, N o . 56. P . O . H ., and Cam p N o. 5 17 . P. 0 . S . o f A . T h e latter has a fine hall, built in 1898. southw est o f W hitm ire. n iU R C flE S

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Creveling. Jan ie s Hutchison, Joseph Brittain, Joseph Salm on, Ephraim L ew is, William Oman, Jo siah M cC lure, Jam e s F o w ler, Benamin F o w ler, Jo h n Stew art, H enry H idlay, ..evi A ikm an, Jo h n Brittain. In 1792 the Presbytery o f C arlisle appointed Rev. M r. H en ry to supply the congregation. T w o y e ars later he w as succeeded by R ev. Jo h n B iyso n. T he succeeding pastors w ere R evs. .Asa Dunham, Sam uel Henderson, M atthew Patterson, Robert B ryson, J. P. H udson, D. J. W aller, S r ., M r. W illiam son, A. I I. H and. G. W. N ew ell, Jam e s M. Salm on, P. W. M click, Jo h n Tliom as, Jam es Dickson, Nathaniel S p ear, C. K. Canfield, R. II. D avis, Jam es M artyn, until 1886. TTte church is still use<l as a place o f w orship by the Lutheran and Reform ed congregations, and R ev. O. E. Sunday, o f E sp y, is the Lutheran pastor. T he successive elders have lieen: W illiam .Sloan, W illiam H utchison, Daniel M cC arty, Sam uel W hite, W illiam B aird, W illiam W ardin, Daniel M click, W illiam W hite, L evi A ikm an, E lias Sm ith, Jo h n W'hitc, A. M. W hite, j. H. A ikm an. A. W. ^ a r. T h e M ethodist Church at Centrevillc was organized in 18 3 2 by Isaac L o w, G eorge Sloan, H enry T rem b ly and .Aaron Boone in a school­ housc near the village. In 1842 the brick build­ ing at the town o f Lim e Ridge w as erected. T h e F ow lcrvillc church w as built in 1867. Both of these churches arc served from E sp y, the present pastor being R ev. Edm und J. Sym ons. T h e Evangelical congregations at Lim e R idge and Wffiitmire were organized Iwtwcen 1 ^ 5 an. T h ey are served from W'est Berw ick at present. T lic Lutheran and R eform ed congrcg.niions in this township are also served from W'est B erw ick. R ev. Isaac Shellham m er w as the first Reform ed m inister to preach in the old H id lay church in 1846. R e v. WilUam F o x first preached in the same building about 1850 to the Lutherans. T h e first Lutheran pastors at Ccntreville w ere R evs. Sharretts, Dimm and B ergstresscr. Both of these Lutheran Churches belong to the W est B en vick charge. T h e W'hitmire Baptist Church w as organ­ ized in 18 5 1 with R e v. John H. W orrell as pastor and with thirty members. It has been s e n e d from B en vick since the beginning.

Hidlay Presbyterian Church has a history contemporaneous with the settlement of the township. O n A u g. 10. 1796, H en ry H idlay conveyed to A nd rew Creveling, G eorge E sp y and Conrad A dam s, trustees of the B ria r­ creek Presbyterian Society, an acre o f ground for the location o f a house o f worship. It is probable that the first building w as erected the follow ing year. T h is building w as used also by the R eform ed and Lutheran congre­ gations fo r m any years. In A ugust. 1838. a large fram e building replaced the sm aller old one. In the old burial ground adjoining are the graves o f m any of the original members. They w ere: W illiam Sloan. Jo h n Freese. Moses Oman. W illiam H utchison, W illiam Park. Sam uel W ebb. H ugh Sloan, .Samuel Relics. .Alexander Aikm an. W illiam Aikm an, SCHOOLS William H enderson, Benjam in Boone, A n ­ drew Creveling. Daniel M cC arty. Jo h n K enT h e earliest schools in Centre township T«dy. W illiam M artz, John B righ t. Samuel w ere taught in private homes. O ne w as lo­