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.

 

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.

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Contributed by Amanda Foringer for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)

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