The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-08-25

TOOTH ANNIVERSARY
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
New England Pisasera n west vir-
s1nia Celebrate Historic Evsns.

sinia Celebrate Historic Evsns.
Buckhannon, W. Va. Aug 3s.--NS~
| ENGLAND pioneers In the heart Of Yves,
| virginia arc today reapins their cen.
t0uniAl harvest In the historic settle.
msnt Of French creek. upshur county
West Virginia. where the ono hun
6redth Anniversary Of the 4 q n 4
French Creek Presbyterian church Ii
row being celebrated.
The French Greek centennial 10 one
/ Of this years most notable events Ia
the historic annals Of the United states
It has brought together people from
E.any dfstsnt points OF the country
West virginians Of Upshnr and adja-
holiday fets for their distingutshed
The centenary today 10 the occasion
Of great Homecoming jubilee. Three
thousand or more people are gathered
II, ana around the old church on the
hill. Nearly all Of those Assem- bling
are related 70 one snother& =
Rev. Earl A. Brooks. D. D.. pastor
Of the Presbyterian church At Everett,
Mase., tonight makes an address re.
viewing the New England ancestry Of
the Ysnkee colony Of French Creek out
Of which grew the strong Presbyterian
church of today.
Sunday morning the centenary SER
mon will be delivered by Rev. 9. Hall
Young. D. D.. now Of New York city.
pioneer Presbyterian missionary 10
Alaska. whose father. Dr. Loyal Young.
preached the semi-centenniAl sermon
fifty years ago.
Sunday afternoon. Rev. warren H.
Wilson. Phi. D.. OF the Presbyterian
board OF home missions. Of New York
city. will make an address. Other min
listers. former pastors Of French Creek
or those who have been intimately as
ISOLATED with the church and commit
nifty, will speak Sunday evening.
DR.. Brooks research into the history
of the church discloses unique and In
teresting records. Early in the nine
teenth century certain tracts Of land
ir what is now the center of West vir-
ginia were opened up for settlers on
favorable terms. These tracts had been
grants from kings OF England in ante
revolutionary times and often over
Tapped one another.
The settlers however. who came from
New England to this region did not
anticipate any trouble. over the land.
Several severely cold New England
summers. and the exploiting Of these
Virginia lands by shrewd Yankee spec
u!ators. brought from Western Massa-
crRsetts. southern Vermont and north
erm Connecticut, a number Of families
of sturdy Puritan stock.
AS early as 1901 Zedekiah Morgan
came from Connecticut and settled on
the Buekhannon river. In 1908 Aaron
Gould came from Charlnmont, Mass,
settling with his family Of eleven chill
dren on French Creek. In 1911 Rob-
ert Young and Gilbert Gould with their
+ lmilies came from Massachusetts
These were followed by other families
in 1S14-15-16--the Phillips Morgan
Could. Alden and Brooks families
From these early settlers descended
nearly all the people now residing in
that part of Upshur county
Soon other settlers from North Caro-
lima and eastern Virginia came into the
county and these intermarried with the
New England families New England
Intelligence. enterprise and piety pre-
dominated.
From the first these Puritan families
moved to establish schools and
churches As soon as they had com
pleted the 500 miles OF wilderness from
Massachusetts to the heart OF West
Virginia, Journeying In oxcarts and
wagons drawn by horses. taking from
six to eight weeks. they began to meet
every Sabbath for religious worship
+, ON house to house. generally a. the
largest house in the community. that
Of Aaron Gould. These Goulds were
the direct descendants OF Zaccheus
Gould. who came TO Plymouth in the
Mayhower
Before they had any minister, as
early as 1s1l-12. they began the prac-
tice of reading sermons as . part Of
their religious exercises This prac-
tice has continued to the present time
at French Creek whenever they weryl
without a preacher. The first reas.er