National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-10-29
SCoTOHIRIsH
THE OLD STOCK OF CUMBERLAND VAL
TEY pa

THE OLD STOCK OF CUMBERLAND VAL
LEY, PA.
VIM. A. B. Sharpe, in a recent address before
the Presbyterians Of Cumberland Valley, Pa,
said: Now, who are these Seoteh-Irish Presby-
terians9 Remember the term nSeOtch- Irish" is
American. 1t is not used in either Ireland or
Scotland, and 9 New England scholar has tried
to show that there no such distinctive class Of
people. That he is mistaken we all know. How
much he is mistaken he could only realize If he
were transported to that great West, where the
power and might and the wealth Of this nation
are so fast eentreing. To illustrate: During the
war Of the rebellion served part Of the time in
the Army Of the Gulf. Whilst there my duties
in the Adjutant Generals ONCE Of the corps re-
hH. ny W &c Say az me VnlSqrs OF me
namesl The McCulloughs, MeKinneys, NOEL
henneys, Davidsons, Merrons, Blaines, Grfsrs,
cannot now call to mind; but so familiar were
they that never failed to trace back their an
eestry 70 this Valley, and often told them OF kin
So striking was this that a very worthy gentle
man, native Of New York, who served with me
q long time, asked me how large place New
Vile was, for he thought the whole Thirteenth
: army corps must have originally come from that
place. Ianswered With pride, "Maior Seward,
ne Gspssee valley can boast Of rs Wheat TIE Re
butter and ine breed Of cattle, but Cumberland
valley boasts Of its breed of men,"
ana now Oh lIb bLOCAs us SeQLQ lTl6Q
Presbyterians, who are they, and whence came
they2 When John Knox was laid in his grave,
the Earl Of Morton, who stood by, pointing to his
cofin, said: There lies he who never feared the
face Of man." When the Declaration Of Indepen-
dence was under discussion in the Continental
Congress John Witherspoon, Scotch Presbyte-
rian minister, q descendant OF John Knox, and at
that time, believe, president Of Princeton Col
lege, said: although these gray hairs must de-
seend into t1e WOULD IN, inn1se Tst t
public executioner than desert at this crisis the
sacred cause Of my country
The historian Bancroft tells in one of HIS vol
umes that 'the first public voice in America for
dissolving all connection with Great Britain
came from the Scotch Irish Presbyteriansn
"the people over the Susquehannan in 1855, and
subsequently, organized the church Of 'SilVers'
Spring" the Meeting House Spring Church"
the "Big Spring Church" the "Middle Spring
Church, the "Rocky Spring Church" the 'sFalI-
ing Spring Church, the Churches of"East Como
SonossSssgus and so STer %s ooSo
And now, think of the names Of the pastors
connected with these churches. The Oraigheads,
one OF whom was not only soldier Of the Gross,
but also Of our Revolutionary army. in which he
commanded g company raised out Of his own con-
company in July, l77o, and who, as provincial
captain Of rangers, had already commended with
the sayages Of the border; The Kings, Renne-
sons, Wilson's and many others whose names re-
call the days when the early settlers Of this val
ley Wttn6tOOQ the savage, anu nelpeQ 70 Dfeak
the sceptre Of Englandis king on this Continent.
Names that carry the memory back to the time
when Seotland's streams iran purple to the sea-"
with the blood Of those ''Who kept the truth 50
pure Of DID,"
Men Of the hLeague Covenant, y men whom the
House Of Stuart, with Graham Of Olaverhouse
and his dragons as their instruments Of tyranny,
could not wiring from their faith, or trample into
submission to the establishment. They came from
that o6ieiR6 gentfHm, which between III and
lT73 sent twenty-five thousand Presbyterians into
America, multitudes Of whom found their way
into this valley and through 1t. One stream Of
population vending its way down through Vir-
Rnia into the Carolinas; and another crossing the
mountains to the headWaters Of the Ohio, followed
its course and passed on down into the valley Of
the Mississippi.
or such we're our immediate ancestry, who, in
the war Of the Revolution, "haYinE conquered
tyrants, forgave them: who, having won and es-
tablished freedom, sat down in mutual trust
and common brotherhood beneath Its halloWed
shades" And am thankful to-day that Charles
II and James II prosecuted such an ancestry out
OF Europe, and that they wandered to this land;
and am prouder Of being the descendant Of an
exile for truths sake and for conscience than
could be If were the descendant OF Tudor,
Bourbon or Hapsburg; for one Is kinship TO
temporal king, whose empire passes away, but
the other is sonshlp to Eorshipers Of the King OF
Kings, Whoes empire endures forever.