MINISTERS
OF
THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF MAUCH CHUNK
1835 - 1910
REV. DAVID JUNKIN served
November 1835 to April 1836, between the formation of the church and the
installation of Rev. Webster as first Pastor.
1. RICHARD WEBSTER, April
1836 to June 1856. The first Pastorate
of the Mauch Chunk Church was that of Rev. Webster’s. The Pastorate officially began in July of 1837, though he had
preached at the church for some time prior to that. He was an untiring Minister of the Faith, serving fully until
shortly before his death June 18, 1856, in the 45th year of
life. It was said he was the father of
the Presbytery of Luzerne.
Various
ministers served during the interim following the sudden death of Rev.
Webster. They included:
Rev. A. B. CROSS of
Baltimore, an in-law of Rev. Webster, served for a short time after the death
of Rev. Webster;
Rev. D. THOMAS E VERMILYN of
New York, served during July of 1856;
Rev. JOHN JOHNSON of
the Conyngham Valley, Luzerne Co., served a short time in July
and August of 1856;
Rev. WILLIAM R. GLENN of
Tamaqua, served a short time during August of 1856; REV. HARNED of
Summit Hill, served during September of 1856;
Rev. WILLIAM OWEN served
during October of 1856;
Rev. WILLIAM KENNEDY served
during October of 1856;
Rev. EDWARD KENNEDY served
during November of 1856;
Rev. THOMAS P. HUNT of
Easton, served during December of 1856;
Rev. C. H. EDGAR,
of Easton, served in early 1857.
2. REV. I. ASPINWALL HODGE became
the 2nd Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Mauch Chunk. Installed in April of 1857, he closed his
service in April of 1865, having served the church for eight years.
Various
ministers filled the pulpit between April
1865 and November 1866.
3.
REV.
JACOB BELVILLE became the 3rd Pastor of the First
Presbyterian Church of Mauch Chunk.
Installed November 1st. 1866, he served seven years until
April of 1873.
Various
ministers filled the pulpit between the 3rd and 4th Pastorate.
4.
REV.
EDSALL FERRIER, a native of New York State, was installed Pastor of
the First Presbyterian Church of Mauch Chunk October 31, 1873. He was a very well liked and eloquent
minister, serving for over ten years.
Illness forced him to leave Mauch Chunk for a period of six months. He retired to Philadelphia, hoping to regain
his health and return to the church in Mauch Chunk. Unfortunately, his illness persisted, and on January 15, 1884,
the pastoral relation was dissolved.
Rev. Ferrier died at Easton Pa. where he had been teaching at Lafayette
College, on Satukrday, January 31, 1903
Various
ministers filled in between the 4th and 5th
Pastorate. They included: Rev. EDSALL FERRIER,
Rev. C. R. GREGORY, who
served in June of 1884,
Rev. JACOB WEIDMAN,
Rev. OLIVER C. MOORE and
Rev. WEBSTER WOODBURY.
5. REV. WEBSTER WOODBURY was installed the 5th Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Mauch Chunk on January 1, 1885. He tendered his resignation at the meeting of the Presbytery at Allentown on April 18, 1888, to take effect May 1, 1888.
Various
ministers served in the interim. They
included:
Rev. DOUGLAS CARLISLE, May
6;
Rev. CHAUNCEY T. EDWARDS, May
13;
Rev. J. MARSLAND, May
20;
Rev. B. D. SINCLAIR of
Fowlersville, NY, May 27;
Rev. THOMAS M. B. NICHOL of
West Pittston, June 3 and 10;
Rev. W. P. STEVENSON of
Myler, Allegheny Co., Pa., June 17;
Rev. B. D. SINCLAIR,
June 24;
Rev. SAMUEL J. HARLAN of
Brooklyn, NY, July 1;
Rev. STEPHEN BARNES, July
8;
Rev. JOHN F. SCOTT of
Slatington, Pa., July 15;
Rev. JAMES M. SALMON of
Bangor, Pa., July 22 and 29;
Rev. THOMAS NICHOLS of
West Pittston on August 12;
Rev. WILLIAM Y. BROWN of
West Philadelphia, August 19;
Rev. BALLARD, September
2;
Rev. EDSALL FERRIER, September
9.
On
several dates the church was closed.
6. REV. WILLIAM P. STEVENSON
was
installed Pastor on September 28, 1888.
Rev. Stevenson served the congregation until April of 1891, when he
accepted a call to serve at the Presbyterian Church of Titusville, Pa. He preached his last sermon in Mauch Chunk
on April 26, 1891.
Various
ministers preached during the interim.
They included
Rev. J. W. Bischoff on
May 3, 1891;
Rev. J. L. Litch on
May 10;
Rev. John C. Clyde on
May 17;
Rev. H. W. Lowry on
May 24;
Rev. W. C. Mickey on
May 31;
Rev. Theo Hunter on
June 7;
Rev. A. A. Murphy on
June 14;
Rev. James Heaney on
May 21;
Rev. H. F. Scholl on
June 28;
Rev. J. P. W. Blattenberger on
July 5;
Rev. J. W. Bishchoff on
July 12;
Rev. A. H. Frick on
July 19;
Rev. Walter B. Floyd on
July 26;
Rev. A. F. Walker on
Aug. 2;
Rev. Newton Reed on
Aug. 9;
Rev. Duncan M. Buchanan on
Aug. 16;
Rev. Henry D. Jenkinson on
Aug. 23;
Rev. W. T. Sim Kieffer on
Aug. 30;
Rev. J. W. Gilland on
Sept. 6;
Rev. James D. Hunter on
Sept. 13;
Rev. James G. Patterson on
Sept. 20;
Rev. Edsall Ferrier on
Sept. 27;
Rev. Prof. Youngman of
Lafayette College on Oct. 4;
Rev. Edsall Ferrier on
Oct. 9 & 11;
Rev. Prof. Porter of
Lafayette College on Oct. 18;
Rev. Edsall Ferrier on
Oct. 25;
Rev. D. M. Buchanan on
Nov. 1 and thereafter.
7. REV. DUNCAN M. BUCHANAN was
installed pastor on December 3, 1891.
He served the church until Sept. 5, 1902, when a letter of petition to
dissolve his ties to the Mauch Chunk Church was presented to the Presbytery of
Lehigh, meeting in Stroudsburg. This
was accepted and the pulpit was declared vacant on September 28, 1902.
Various
ministers preached during the interim.
They included:
Rev. Edward F. Reimer
on Sept. 28;
Rev. James M. Work
of Cannonsburg, Pa. on Oct. 5;
Rev. William Steans
of Elmhurst, Pa. on Oct. 10;
Rev. Frederick M. Johnson
of Clayton, NJ, on Oct. 19;
Rev. Kenneth M. Craig
of Sayre, Pa. on Oct. 24;
Rev. James M. Cattanach
of Tarrytown, Md., on Oct. 31 & Nov. 2;
Rev. Howard L. Guss
of Wheaton, Ill., on Nov. 9;
Rev. W. S. C. Webster
of Ironville on Nov. 16;
Rev. E. N. Ware
of Princeton, NJ, on Nov. 23;
Rev. Edward F. Reimer
on Nov. 30;
Rev. M. W. Kratz
on Dec. 7;
Rev. Frank G. Milman
of Pottsville on Dec. 14;
Rev. James Cattanach
on Dec. 21;
Rev. W. H. Filson
of Lehigh Univ. on Dec. 28.
On
Monday, Nov. 10, an election had been held and Rev. Cattanach was chosen to be
the new pastor.
8. REV. JAMES CATTANACH is
installed new pastor at the start of 1903.
He continued to serve the church until some time after 1910.
Web
page, text and research by
2001