Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1897-03-04
En.KlNLEY.s ANoEa1oaa
the Old Church Dating naclt TO tn
T:ges Of GeaEse I.

the Old Church pat!as nach TO tho
Times of George I.
The church where the great-great-
great-gTandmotber Of the president
elect, William Mckinley, attended, and
the old dwelling occupied by her peo-
pie, are still standing in Lancaster
county, Pa. Tie PITY is, however, that
the original house in which she was
born IS no longer to lie seen; excepting
for Il few stones which me:}; he out
lines Of the foundation u ...y Old place
there is not trace =. i;s eighteenth
century architecture.
In the beautiful Donegal valley,
among t. ceiling mills of Lancaster
county, and isol.ing down uron the
.-apid waters OF :he Susquchanna, lies
the village of Donegal, where the
Stevcnsons built the long, low house
in which the ancestor of president
were born. The valley is one of the
prcttiest in the state, and that is say
ing great deal, ior the state is filled
with picturesque places lying among
yerdant hills, on the sides of which
cling tcnaciously the most attractive
of well-kept farms and the whitest Of
whte-welIcd farmhouses. Donegal lies
about IS miles northwest OF the town
of Lancaster, and to get to It one had
better leave the train ut Marietta,
where a conveyance can be obtained
to make the five-::i!e Journey still to
be accomplished
Strictly speaking, Donegal Is not
village uor town, and It is doubtful l.
it can claim TO be borough, for there
IS merely n sprinhlng of farmhouses
upon TIE hills, too far apart almost to
he called community. In the midst
Of this fertile spot lies Undecided in the
trees, which even at this time OF the
year hide it, the Old Donegal Presby-
terrain church, which has been stand
ing since early in the eighteenth cen.
fury. 1t has been remcdelcd, of course,
IN order to preserrc it, but it stands
practically the same to-day as it did in
the days of George RI.
y tablet Of marble attached to the
wall Of the church gives about all tie
history that is known OF tie old struc-
turc. From this it seems the church
was founded by Arthur Patterson in
the y@ar 100, and in The year 174) the
church received a patent from John
Thomas and Richard Penn. During the
revolution the pastor of the little church
vas aroyalist, but ore day his corgrega-
ton tool, him out ard made him swear
his allegiance to the colonies, under
white oak in front Of the church; and
The tree, now mighty king of the for
est, known as witness oak" Oh a.
count Of this circumstance, is loved al
most as much as the little white-plas-
tered church itself.
III the early part of the last century,
ut the time when George |. Was king,
there q large number of immigrants
from the north Of Ireland. About that
tine the Ulstc. men were having an II:
rcconcilatlc controversy about The
rates for land rents. and as result
they decided TO leave the old country
and seel, refuge IL the rev world. The
majority G: these settled west CT the
Blue Ridge, and large number Of the
Scotch-IIiSh Became the pioneers in
the western part OF Pennsylvania,
Among those who came over at This
time was certain james Stcrcnsou.
who also spelled his rG@c Stcphcrsta,
Gnd who had it spelled for him, in the
patent from the proprietor Of the col
oay, Stinson.
The precise date Of his arrival is IN.
known, but it was undoubtedly fro.1
while the Iirzt George was
still rciGring, In the year l7t0, Tie
same year the church obtained pa.
.nt, he received Il patent for land IS. |!
534 acres il Donegal. Ncwes !
consequently one Of TIE pioneers in the
s.at9, and lie must have tecn one OF
the earliest in Donegal, for his PIC Hcrty
IS cho;ccly located, being, rs described
III his will, north AID adjoining the
Donegal church"
James Stevenson lad two sors and |
fcur daughters. Ci ;hese tx eldest
son, Nathaniel, Who died ta4hclo",
i..aali;ed The .,ro"crtr, and $; his ;!cath
il vent to the eldest daughter, Anne,
who married loj.n IN son. .ia whose