The evening times., 1896-12-24
CHURCH OF THE McKINLEYS.
II Still Stands I'm Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania.


The church where the .srcat-grcai -craut-
mother Of the FresideHt-cl William Nc
Kinley, attended, and the old dwelling
occupied by her people, are SIN standing
IN Lancaster county. The pity is, how
ever. that the original house in which She
was born is no longer o tie seen, excepting
for a few stones which mark the outlines
of the foundation of the old place, there
is not a trace OF its eighteenth century
architecture.
In the beautiful Donegal Valley, among
the Iolling hills of Lancaster county, and
looking down upon the rapid waters OF the
Susquehanna. lies the village Of Donegal,
where the Stcvensons built their long. low
house, in which the ancestor of Prrsi-
dent was born. The valley is one of the
prettiest IN the state, and that is saying
great deal, for the State is filled with
picturesque places lying among the ver-
dant hills. on the sides of which ding
tenaCiuusly the most attractive Of Well kept
farms and the whitest Of white He'd farm
houses. Donegal lies about eighteen miles
northwest OF the town OF Lancaster, and to
get t. IT one had better leave the train at
Marietta. where conveyance can be oh
tanned To make the nvc-Inile tourney still
TO be accomplished.
strictly speaking. Donegal is not
village nor a town, and IL is doubtful If II
can claim To be a thorough, for there is
merely Il spIlnhlue Ol ldFii houses upon
the bills, too far apart almost to form
community In the midst of this fertile
spot lies embedded in the trees, which even
at this time OF the year hide IL, the old
Donegal Presbyterian Church which has
been standing since early in the eighteenth
century. 1t has been remodelcd, of course,
inpr'ier topreservcit. but IL stands practical
ly the same today as it did in the days of
George II.
\ ;r,D!-t of marble, attached {" the wall
of the church, gives about all the history
that is known of the old structure. From
this 1T seems the church was founded by
Arthur Patterson, in the year l122, and
in the year l74o the church received a
patent from John Thomas and Richard
Penn. During the Revolution the pastor
of the little church was a Royalist, but
one day his congregation took him out and
made him swear his allegiance TO the
colonies, under "A white oak in front of
the church, and the tree, now a mighty
king OF the forest, known as the witness
oak on account OF this Circumstance. is
loved almost as much as the little white
piastered church itself.
In the early part of the las century. at
the time when George | was king there
was Il large number of immigrants from
the North Of ireland. About that time the
Ulster men Were having an irrccOncilable
controversy about the rates for land rents,
and as a result they decided to leave the
old country and seek refuge in the New
World. The majority OF these settled west
OF the Blue Ridge. and n large mum Der of the
Scotch became the pioneers of the Western
part of Pennsylvania. Among those who
came over al this time was certain James
Stevenson, who had also spelt his name as
Stephenson, and who had it spelled for
him, III the patent from the proprietor of
the colony, Stmson.
The precise date of his arrival is un-
known, but it was undoubtedly, from ap-
pearances, while the first George was
still reigning. In the year 1740, the
same year the church obtained a patent
he received a patent for land aggregating
334 acres in Donegal. He was conse-
quently one OF the pioneers in the State,
and he must have been one of the earliest
in Donegal, for his property is choiccly
located, being, as described in his will
north and adjoining the Donegal Church."
James Stevenson had two sons and four
daughters. OF these the eldest son, Ma
thaniel. who died bachelor, inherited the
property, and at his death it went to the
eldest daughter, Anne, who married John
watson, in whose family the property re-
mained until 1872, when 1t was sold to
General Simon Cameron. The Steven
sons were wellto-do people, and at one
time had number Of slaves The second
eldest daughter, Hannah, married John
Gray, who lived near the SuSquehanna, at
Bainbridge, and afterwards in westmore-
land county. Their daughter Sarah
Gray, married David Mckinley on Decem-
Der 10, 1880.
David Mckinley was in the bloom of man.
hood at this time, having returned from
the war, in which he had served twenty-one
months. having enlisted no less than eight
times in as many different companies
Their second son, James Stevenson Nc
kinley, was born September 10, 1888
He subsequently settled in Mercer county,
where he married Mary Rose, and their son,
William Mckinley, became the father of
Major William Mckinley, who has Just
been elected Preside MT OF the United States
The old brick house. with its numerous
wings and spacious porches, which over
looks the church, was built by Dr. John |
Watson, between the years l. sos and 1908, |
the old structure, in which q grcat-great-
grandmother Of Major William Mckinley
was born. having been torn down in Is16. |
This fine cid residence was called by DR..
Watson THE Seat OF Beauty" and there |
semes to be no reason why that name
should be changed how. For the past |
twenty years or more it has been the |
Cameron homestead. Here Gen. Cam |
eron breathed his last few years ago and |
here his son. Senator Don Cameron, spends |
q portion OF his summers.