Early Washington Co. Pennsylvania Histories with
References to Spalding, Rigdon, Mormonism, etc.
Solomon Spalding's "Temperance Inn" and Residence (1814-16) at Amity, PA
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Document: Alfred Creigh's comments (excerpts) Source: Creigh, Alfred: History of Washington County (Harrisburg: B. Singerly, Pub., 1870, 71) Title page Chapter 1 Chapter 5 Mormonism Campbellites Transcriber's comments 1781 map 1792 map |
Alfred Creigh's 1879 newspaper article | 1882 History of Washington Co. excerpt
McFarland's 1910 20th Cent. Hist. excerpt | Forrest's 1926 Hist. Wash. Co. excerpt
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6 PREFACE. (this page not yet transcribed) |
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[ 7 & 8 ] CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. WASHINGTON COUNTY -- ITS PRIMITIVE HISTORY UNDER VIRGINIA. Spottsylvania County; its boundaries -- Orange County -- Frederick County; its boundaries -- Augusta County; its boundaries -- District of West Augusta -- Justices' Courts -- Oath of allegiance -- Oath of supremacy -- The test oath -- Oath of abjuration -- Youghiogheny County; its boundaries, courts, and court-houses, and punishments -- Pillory and stocks described -- Whipping-post and dunking-stool -- Ohio County; its boundaries and court-house -- Monongalia County -- Courts and roads -- Orphan children -- Taverns -- Continental money -- Ferries -- Attorneys-at-law -- Sheriffs and deputy-sheriffs -- Surveyors -- Military officers -- Grist-mills -- Salts -- Cotton, and wool cards -- Counterfeit money -- Allegiance -- Naturalization -- Passports -- Benevolence of Youghiogheny County -- Marriage extraordinary -- Reflections pg. 009
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
APPENDIX.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER VI.
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CHAPTER V. TOWNSHIPS AND BOROUGHS IN WASHINGTON COUNTY. The history of the Townships and Boroughs in their chronological order, detailing interesting events in each -- Also the history of churches and the present state of education in each township and borough. (this page not yet transcribed) 88 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY AMWELL TOWNSHIP. In the original record of this county its name is written "Aim-well." At the date of its organization, July 15th, 1781, it was bounded on the north by Strabane township, east by Bethlehem township, south by Morgan township (a township of Greene County since 1796). and on the west by Donegal.Its present boundaries are South Strabane on the north, Morris and Franklin on the west, West Bethlehem on the east, and Greene County on the south. On the 19th of June, 1838, part of Amwell was annexed to Strabane township, and at the May term of court in 1856, the township lines between Amwell and Morris were changed and confirmed. It is centrally distant from the borough of Washington ten miles. Its population in 1860 was 2042, of which seven were colored. Its greatest length is ten miles, breadth four and one-half miles. This township is drained by the north fork of Tenmile Creek; by the little North fork and Bane's fork of the same creek. It contains four stores, one distillery, and ten schools, employing five male and five female teachers, the former receiving thirty-eight dollars and thirty-eight cents, and the latter thirty-three dollars and five cents each per month, with five hundred and nineteen scholars, of which two hundred and eighty-six are males and two hundred and thirty-three are females -- the tuition costing each scholar per month eighty; three cents. Amount of tax levied for building purposes, four hundred and thirty-eight dollars and ninety-five cents -- total amount levied for school purposes, two thousand four hundred and thirty-nine dollars and fourteen cents; amount received from the State appropriation one hundred and eighty-three dollars and thirty cents. The towns are AMITY and CLARKTOWN (TEN-MILE VILLAGE). Amity is about ten miles from the county seat, and is on Bane's fork of Ten-mile Creek and on the road leading from Washington to Waynesburg, containing thirty-four dwellings, two stores, a Presbyterian church * under the care of Rev. J. W. Hamilton, and a Methodist Protestant church, the pastor of which is Rev. F. A. Day. This town was located about the year 1790 by Daniel Dodd, Esq., a brother of the Rev. Thaddeus Dodd, who owned the land, formed the plan, and numbered the lots. The position being central, on main thoroughfare to Greene County, a hewed log Presbyterian church, stores, tavern, and dwelling houses were soon erected. At that early date the churches were destitute of heating apparatus, and the church-going members sat in their pews with their great coats and mittens, while the women were muffled up -- not in furs, but in home-made dresses and comfortable shawls. Here we may remark that both before and after preaching by Rev. Dodd, the male part of the congregation used to resort to the tavern to warm themselves [this place] being now occupied as a private dwelling by Squire [Clutter, no tavern] being licensed in the place. In those early days athletic __________ * see pp. 217, 218. HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY 89 sports were much more in vogue than at present; long bullets, the ball alley, and target shooting were the favorite exercises, and the party losing paid their forfeit by ordering drinks for all hands. MORMONISM. The village of Amity, in all coming time, will be regarded as the Mecca of Mormonism. It was in the year 1816 that the Rev. Solomon Spaulding, a graduate of Dartmouth College, settled in this rural village, with a view to banish ennui. He was (what is familiarly known as) an antiquarian, and travelled far and near to investigate, scientifically, Indian mounds, and everything else connected with American antiquities, for the purpose of tracing the aborigines to their original source, a portion of one of the lost tribes of ancient Israel. While pursuing these investigations, and to while away the tedious hours, he wrote a romance, based upon fiction; his investigations and history at the same time leaving the reader under the impression that it was found in one of these mounds, and through his knowledge of hieroglyphics he had deciphered it. As time and circumstances would permit, he would often read to his friends in Amity portions of his fabulous and historical romance.Rev. Spaulding resolved to publish it under the name of "The Manuscript Found," and actually entered into a contract with a Mr. Patterson, of Pittsburg, to publish the same, but from some cause the contract was not fulfilled. The manuscript remained in the possession of Mr. Patterson between two and three years before Mr. Spaulding reclaimed and recovered it. In the mean time a journeyman printer of the name of Sidney Rigden copied the whole of the manuscript and hearing of Joseph Smith, Jr.'s, digging operations for money through the instrumentality of necromancy, resolved in his own mind that he would turn this wonderful manuscript to good account and make it profitable to himself. An interview takes place between Rigden and Smith, terms are agreed upon, the whole manuscript undergoes a partial revision, and in process of time, instead of finding money, the find CURIOUS PLATES, which when translated, turn out to be the GOLDEN BIBLEBOOK OF MORMON, which was found under the prediction of Mormon in these words (see Mormon Bible, p. 504): "Go to the land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shin, and there I have deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people." Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, certify that they have seen these selfsame plates which were deposited by Mormon -- that they were faithfully translated by the gift and power of God, because God's voice declared unto them, that the work was true, and to place the testimony of truthfulness beyond a peradventure, eight witnesses, viz.: Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, Sr., Hiram Smith, and Samuel H. Smith (almost all of the witnesses belonging either to the Whitmer or Smith 90 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY family), testify that Joseph Smith, Jr., the translator, showed them the plates of gold, that they handled them with their own hands, saw the curious engravings, and that the plates were of curious workmanship. Such is the account of the most stupendous imposture which has been perpetrated for many centuries, but more especially upon so intelligent a nation as the American people. An imposture at which the religious world stands amazed, paralyzing the marriage vow, and defying the power of the general government. To place this question beyond the possibility of a doubt, and to demonstrate the fact that the Book of Mormon was originally written in Amity, Washington County, Pa., I shall take the testimony of living witnesses, whose characters are beyond reproach, and beloved by the entire community as persons whose veracity cannot be questioned, and whose intelligence has no superior. The testimony I shall offer is a letter from the Rev. J. W. Hamilton, pastor of the Presbyterian church in Amity, Pa. -- a letter from Joseph Miller, Sr., the intimate and confidential friend of Rev. Solomon Spaulding, and lastly, a letter from the wife of Rev. Spaulding, which was originally published thirty-one years since, or in 1833.
1. LETTER OF REV. J. W. HAMILTON
Mr. Miller is now in the seventy-ninth year of his age. He is an elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His judgment is good and his veracity unimpeachable. He was well acquainted with Mr. S. while he lived at Amity. He waited on him during his last illness. He made his coffin, and assisted to bury his remains where they now lie, in the Presbyterian graveyard at Amity. Re also bailed Mr. S.'s wife when she took out letters of administration on his estate. Mr. Miller's statement may be relied on as true. J. W. Hamilton. 2. LETTER OF JOS. MILLER, SR. When Mr. Spaulding lived in Amity, Pa., I was well acquainted with him. I was frequently at his house. He kept what is called a tavern. It was understood that he had been a preacher; but his health failed him and he ceased to preach. I never knew him to preach after he came to Amity.He had in his possession some papers which he said he had written. He used to read select portions of these papers to amuse us of evenings. These papers were detached sheets of foolscap. He said he wrote the papers as a novel. He called it the "Manuscript Found," or "The Lost Manuscript Found." He said he wrote it to pass away the time when he was unwell; and after it was written he thought he would publish it a novel, as a means to support his family. Some time since, a copy of the book of Mormon came into my hands. My son read it for me, as I have a nervous shaking of the hands that prevents me from reading. I noticed several passages which I recollect having HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY 91 heard Mr. Spaulding read from his "Manuscript." One passage on the 148th page (the copy I have is published by J. O. Wright & Co., New York) I remember distinctly. He speaks of a battle, and says the Amalekites had marked themselves with red on the foreheads to distinguish them from the Nephites. The thought of being marked on the forehead with red was so strange, it fixed itself in my memory. This together with other passages I remember to have heard Mr. Spaulding read from his "Manuscript." Those who knew Mr. Spaulding will soon all be gone, and I among the rest. I write that what I know may become a matter of history; and that it may prevent people from being led into Mormonism, that most seductive delusion of the devil. From what I know of Mr. Spaulding's "Manuscript" and the book of Mormon, I firmly believe that Joseph Smith, by some means, got possession of Mr. Spaulding's "Manuscript," and possibly made some changes in it and called it the "Book of Mormon." JOSEPH MILLER, SR. March 26, 1869.
3. LETTER OF MRS. DAVIDSON, FORMERLY
MRS. SPAULDING. Mr. Miller has, on various occasions heretofore, furnished us with many interesting incidents connected with the career of Solomon Spaulding, and the origin of the so-called Mormon Bible. The present contribution, which consists of a statement from the wife of Mr. Spaulding, seems to furnish conclusive evidence that the "Manuscript Found," written by her husband, and the "Book of Mormon," are one and the same. Origin of the "Book of Mormon," or "Golden Promise." -- As this book has excited much attention, and has been put by a certain new sect, in the place of the Sacred Scriptures, I deem it a duty which I owe to the public, to state what I know touching its origin. That its claims to a divine origin are wholly unfounded needs no proof to a mind unperverted by the grossest delusions. That any sane person should rank it higher than any other merely human composition is a matter of the greatest astonishment; yet it is received as divine by some who dwell in enlightened New England, and even by those who have sustained the character of devoted Christians. Learning recently that Mormonism has found its way into a church in Massachusetts, and has impregnated some of its members with its gross delusions, so that excommunication has been necessary, I am determined to delay no longer doing what I can to strip the mask from this monster of sin, and to lay open this pit of abomination. 92 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY of research for the curious. Numerous implements were found, and other articles evincing great skill in the arts. Mr. Spaulding being an educated man, and passionately fond of history, took a lively interest in these developments of antiquity; and in order to beguile the hours of retirement, and furnish employment for his lively imagination, he conceived the idea of giving an historical sketch of this long lost race. Their extreme antiquity of course would lead him to write in the most ancient style, and as the Old Testament is the most ancient book in the world, he imitated its style as nearly as possible. His sole object in writing this historical romance was to amuse himself and his neighbors. This was about the year 1812. Hull's surrender at Detroit occurred near the same time, and I recollect the date [well] from that circumstance. As he progressed in his narrative the neighbors would come in from time to time to hear portions read, and a great interest in the work was excited among them. It is claimed to have been written by one of the lost nation, and to have been recovered from the earth, and assumed the title of "Manuscript Found." The neighbors would often inquire how Mr. S. progressed in deciphering the manuscript, and when he had sufficient portion prepared, he would inform them, and they would assemble to hear it read. He was enabled, from his acquaintance with the classics and ancient history, to introduce many singular names, which were particularly noticed by the people, and could be easily recognized by them. Mr. Solomon Spaulding had a brother, Mr. John Spaulding, residing in the place at the time, who was perfectly familiar with the work, and repeatedly heard the whole of it read. HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY 93 meeting and deputed Dr. Philastus Hurlbut, one of their number, to repair to this place and to obtain from me the original manuscript of Mr. Spaulding, for the purpose of comparing it with the Mormon Bible, to satisfy their own minds and to prevent their friends from embracing an error so delusive. This was in the year 1834. Dr. Hurlbut brought with him an introduction and request for the manuscript, which was signed by Messrs. Henry Lake, Aaron Wright and others, with all of whom I was acquainted, as they were my neighbors when I resided in New Salem. TENMILE VILLAGE. I have been favored with the following description of Clarktown, or Tenmile Village, by J. C. Milliken, M. D., one of our most successful physicians in this county: --This town is situated in the southern part of the county, near the line of Greene County, on North Tenmile Creek. It is one of our neatest country villages, with one main street and another running across it at nearly right angles; the houses are generally neatly painted, with yards in front ornamented with evergreens, shrubbery, and flowers. The town contains one large flour and saw-mill, one blacksmith shop, one dry-goods store, one carriage and wagon factory, one shoemaker shop, two physicians, and a population of about two hundred and twenty. It contains a Masonic lodge, and a school-house capable of containing one hundred scholars, in which the usual branches are taught nine months in the year. EARLY SETTLERS. Of the early settlers in this part of the county, as well as the adjoining county of Greene, we desire to speak. The first settlers were squatters who purchased the land from the native Indians for a gun. trinket, or gewgaw, of whom were John Rutman and Dennis Smith, the former dying at the age of ninety-nine and the. latter at94 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY (pages 94-192 not transcribed) HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY 193 On the 27th of November, its third meeting was held in the court-house, and ten persons were added. On January 23, 1832, Rev. A. Bryan was assisted by Rev. Milton Bird, and six persons received. February 24, 1832, an election for ruling elders was held. Peter Wolfe, Moses Little, and A. M. S. Gordon were elected and ordained ruling elders. December 25, 1832, John Hewitt and Andrew Bell were elected and ordained elders. 1835, June 14, the church dedicated by Rev. Alfred Bryan. September 21, 1835, James McDowell; March, 1838, James Guttery, Ezekiel Tharp, and William Smith; 1844, Odel Squier; 1851, William Smith, were elected elders. March 24, 1832, Samuel McFarland, Alex Ramsey, John Wilson, William Smith, were elected trustees. March 24, 1846, William Smith, Matthew Friffin, Joseph Martin, and Ezekiel Tharp. January 11, 1858, Hugh Munnel, John Guthery, James McElree, and H. B. McCollum. The first Board of Trustees were authorized to procure a house of worship. In 1834, Samuel McFarland erected the church ediface on Belle Street, from voluntary contributors and his own private funds, and in 1856, it appears the church was in debt to him $970. The reason given on the records why the church did not prosper, was their failing in their contract on this occasion, and also promising preachers more than they gave them. The ministers who have been ordained as pastors were Rev. S. M. Aaston, Rev. J. Shook, Rev. J. Eddy, Rev. Milton Bird, Rev. A. T. Reese, Rev. W. E. Post, Rev. S. E. Hudson, Rec. S. Murdock, Rev. P. Axtel, Rev. Robert Martin, Rev. J. C. Thompson, Rev. A. S. Robertson, Rev. Frederick Wall, Rev. John R. Brown, Rev. Weaver, and Rev. John Edmiston. In 1867, from a variety of causes, the church did not meet, there being no pastor, and the people united with other churches. The building is rented to the Disciple Church. "DISCIPLES OF CHRIST." Before giving a history of the different church organizations in this county, we would prefix the following account of this religious denomination:--In their associated oeganization they are called the Church of Christ, or the Christian Church, but in their individual religious capacity "Disciples of Christ." As early as 1803 a church was constituted in the Pigeon Creek settlement under the labors of Rev. Matthias Luce, the Rev. Speers, and others, taking the Holy Scriptures for their rule of faith and practice. The record itself styles this organization "The Gospel Church." This church was afterwards called the Baptist church, the cause of its origin being brought about by Rev. Charles Wheeler, who, in an effort to introduce the creed of that denomination, said, "Those that subscribed to the creed 194 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY would be known and recognized as the regular Baptist Church of Pigeon Creek, those who would not, as Campbellites." In 1807, Rev. Thomas Campbell emigrated to the United States (a member of the General Associate Synod of Scotland) and was received by the Presbytery of Chartiers. So zealous was he in the advocacy of the all-sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures designed expressly for the edification and perfection of the Christian church, that he felt it to be his duty to remonstrate against the doctrines and commandments of men in the form of creeds, confessions, and catechisms, arguing therefrom that Protestant denominations had usurped more or less the forms, the teachings, and the preachings of the divinely commissioned apostles. This teaching was opposed by his co-presbyters, and on the 17th of August, 1809, a meeting was held on the head waters of Buffalo, in this county, in which a declaration and address of the Christian Association of Washington was adopted "for the sole purpose of promoting simple evangelical Christianity free from all mixture of human opinions and inventions of men." In its declaration, this society "by no means considers itself a church, nor does it at all assume to itself the powers peculiar to such a society, nor do the members as such consider themselves as standing connected in that relation, nor as at all associated for the peculiar purposes of church association, but merely as voluntary advocates for church reformation. Notwithstanding these principles as announced in the declaration and address, we find here, on the 4th day of May, 1811, organized a number of those who belonged to the (Buffalo) Christian Association, into a church with no other creed but the Bible. While upon this subject, we may remark that at a meeting of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church, held October 4, 1810, Rev. Thomas Campbell, formerly a member of the Associate Synod, but representing himself as a member of the Christian Association of Washington; applied to be taken into Christian ministerial standing. The records show that Rev. Mr. Campbell was heard at length, but the Synod unanimously resolved that however specious the plan of the Christian Association, and however seducing its professions, as experience of the effects of similar projects in other parts has evinced their baleful tendency and destructive operations on the whole interests of religion by promoting divisions instead of union, by degrading the ministerial character, by providing free admission to any errors in doctrine, and to any corruptions in discipline, while a nominal approbation of the Scriptures as the only standard of truth may be professed, the synod are constrained to disapprove the plan and its natural effects. It was also resolved that Rev. Mr. Campbell's request to be received into ministerial and Christian communion cannot be granted. The Synod's disapprobation was not on account of moral character, but on account of his peculiar views, as being inconsistent with the standards of the Presbyterian church. Afterwards Rev. Thomas Campbell sought to persuade his brethren to a stricter observance of the literal teachings of the New HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY 195 Testament. Meeting, therefore, with opposition, and being driven to a closer examination of the Scriptures, he continued to impart the light which dawned upon his own mind to his hearers, and following out their own convictions they soon found themselves drifting away, not only from church standard, but from every other organization built upon what they styled a human platform. He found all his proposals to his Presbyterian friends as embodied in the Buffalo declaration and address rejected, and himself and friends cut off from all church privileges, hence they sought a closer union to Christ, by announcing that they believed that the primitive apostolic mode of worship could be attained without the embittered feelings of selfishness engendered by sectarian strife. Consequently, on the 4th of May, 1811, a number of those who had belonged to the Christian Association were organized into a church with no other creed but the Bible. At this meeting Thomas Campbell was appointed elder, his son Alexander was licensed to preach the gospel, and John Dawson, George Sharp, William Gilchrist, and James Foster were chosen deacons. Upon the basis of the declaration and address, elder Thomas Campbell formed two congregations, one at Cross Roads, six miles northwest of Washington, Penna., and the other on Brush Run, eight miles southwest of the same place. This denomination has the following churches in Washington County, one in Washington, formerly at Martinsburg, two miles east of the borough, one at Pigeon Creek, one at Maple Creek, one at Peters Creek, one at West Middleton, one at the Dutch Fork, one at Independence, and one at West Findley. WASHINGTON CUMBERLAND CHURCH. The church in Washington worships regularly in the Cumberland Presbyterian church, having leased the same for this purpose. It was originally organized at the house of Richard B. Chaplin, in Washington, on Thursday evening, the 12th day of May, 1831. The persons present on that occasion were Richard B. Chaplin, Samuel Marshall, Henry Langley, Frederick Huffman, and Franklin Dunham, Mrs. Sophia Chaplin, Jane McDermot, Hannah Acheson, and Hannah Marshall, who, after mature deliberation, formed themselves into a church, having for their rule of faith and practice the Holy Scriptures, and submitting themselves to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles. They also appointed R. B. Chaplin and Samuel Marshall to preside at their meetings for worship and to administer the ordinances.On May 15, 1831, the church met at R. B. Chaplin's house for the first time, and the brethren and sisters broke the loaf and partook of the wine, in commemoration of the sufferings and death of Christ. Since which time they continued to meet at the house of Samuel Marshall, and the school-house on the farm of Henry Vankirk, Sr., four miles south of Washington, until the fall of 1836, when they 196 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY (the remainder of this book not transcribed) |
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Document: Joseph F. McFarland's comments (excerpts) Source: McFarland, Joseph F.20th Cent. Hist. of Wash. Co. (Chicago: Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co., 1910) Title page Rigdon & Spalding Campbellites Rigdon the Baptist Book of Mormon Transcriber's comments 1781 map 1792 map |
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20TH CENTURY HISTORY OF THE CITY OF Washington and Washington County Pennsylvania AND R e p r e s e n t a t i v e C i t i z e n s BY JOSEPH F. McFARLAND HISTORY IS PHILOSOPHY TEACHING BY EXAMPLES PUBLISHED BY RICHMOND-ARNOLD PUBLISHING COMPANY. F. J. RICHMOND, PRES.: C. R. ARNOLD, SEC'Y. AND TREAS. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 1910 |
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This organization, which had its own candidate for President of the United States within fourteen years after its origin, which has for many years been looked upon by many as a great peril to the United States (having the balance of power in the votes of several states of the Union) was founded upon the "Book of Mormon" and the visions of one Joseph Smith. Whether this society organization in the last century be a religious delusion or a bold fraud, it presents problems that have caused great bloodshed and have thwarted the best intentions of our wisest politicians, and its history of conflicting statements would fill large volumes. From the little old trunk, about the only asset Solomon Spaulding left at Amity at his death in 1816, some manuscript was taken. Of the manuscript all that is at present available is at Oberlin College, Ohio. It has no resemblance to the "Book of Mormon" or to the readings of Spaulding from his "Manuscript Found," as heard by his neighbors. All who heard him read, who have expressed themselves, say so. Oberlin's President once wrote that he could detect no resemblance in general detail between the manuscript in his College and the "Book of Mormon." This gave much satisfaction to the Mormons, who spread his statement throughout Christendom, placing upon it their own construction. This brought a denial from President Fairchild when he wrote as follows: "With regard to the manuscript of Mr. Spaulding now in the library of Oberlin College, I have never stated, and know of no one who can state, that it is the only manuscript which Spaulding wrote, or that it is certainly the one which has been supposed to be the original of the Book of Mormon. The discovery of this manuscript does not prove that there may not have been another which became the basis of the Book of Mormon. The use which has been made of statements emanating from me as implying the contrary of the above is entirely unwarranted. The following extract is from a letter sent by Abner Jackson from Canton, Ohio, to John Aiken, Esq., of Washington, Pa., in 1880, and now in the Washington County Historical Society rooms. He writes: [note: condensed version follows, see also first published version.] "It is a fact well established that the book called the 'Book of Mormon' had its origin from a romance that was written by Solomon Spaulding, in Conneaut, in Ashtabula County, Ohio, about the years 1809 to 1812. At a previous date he had been a preacher. 184 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY probability that our Indians were descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. Said Morse: 'They might have wandered through Asia, up to Bering Strait and across the strait to this continent.' HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY 185 (see Moroni's account of the closing scene). 'And now it came to pass that a great battle was fought at Cumorah. The Lamanites slew all the Nephites except Moroni. He said 'I will write up and hide the records in the earth and whither I go it mattereth not.' The 'Book of Mormon,' page 344, third American edition. How much it resembles the closing scene in the 'Manuscript Found.' The most singular part of the whole matter is it follows the Romance so closely with this difference: the first claims to be a romance; the second claims to be a revelation of God -- a new Bible! There is no evidence anywhere that Spaulding's rewritten manuscript was ever in the possession of anyone but Sidney Rigdon after Spaulding's death in 1816. Spaulding had written two or three books or pamphlets on different subjects, the most important of which in his own estimation was "Lost Manuscript Found," or a name similar to this. This manuscript had occupied much of his time in preparation previous to his removal to Pittsburg in 1812, where he had expected to have it printed and from the sale pay his creditors. The manuscript was left at the printing and book binding establishment of Robert Patterson, of Pittsburg, but like the other productions of Spaulding was never printed. When it was submitted to Mr. Patterson by his foreman, Silas Engles, the suggestion was made that the author furnish the funds or good security to pay the printer. The poverty of Spaulding may have prevented the printing. Spaulding removed to Amity in 1814, after residing in Pittsburg for about two years. John Miller, of Amwell Township, who knew Spaulding at Amity, made his coffin and helped bury him, says Spaulding told him there was a man named Sidney Rigdon about the office of Patterson and they thought he had stolen the manuscript. In 1832, a year or so after the appearance of the Book of Mormon, Rev. Cephas Dodd, physician and pastor at Amity, who attended Spaulding in his last illness, took Mr. George M. French, of Amity, to Spaulding's grave and there expressed positively, his belief that Sidney Rigdon was the agent who had transferred Spaulding's manuscript into the Book of Mormon. This was prior to the public discussion or printing on that subject. Such a conclusion must have arisen only if Rev. Dodd was possessed of a personal knowledge of what he considered reliable information creating a connection of Sidney Rigdon with Spaulding's manuscript. His conviction, if not on independent evidence, must have been on information received from Spaulding. Sidney Rigdon was born Feb. 19, 1793, in Piney Fork, on Peter's Creek, St. Clair Township, nor far from the village of Library, Allegheny County, Pa., from six to twelve miles from Pittsburg. He remained on the farm till the death of his father in 1810. Rigdon was twenty-four years old when Spaulding died. He joined the Baptist Church near Library, May 31, 1817, and began to talk in public on religion soon after. In 1818 he was studying theology with Rev. Andrew Clark, of Sharon, and in March 1819, was licensed there as a preacher by the Baptists. The following months he moved to Warren, Ohio, and resided with Rev. Adamson Bentley, later of Disciple or Christian Church fame, and in June, 1820, married Mrs. Bentley's sister. It has been asserted that Rigdon was frequently around the printing or book binding office of Patterson, and some say he was employed there, but this has been denied as a thing impossible. It is evident that, living within less than twelve miles of Pittsburg it would be strange if he was not more or less in the city and did not make acquaintances there, especially if he was, as his friends say, ambitious and lazy. Conclusive proof is found in the statement of Mrs. R. J. Eichbaum; that she was the daughter of John Johnson, and was the regular clerk of her father as postmaster in Pittsburg from 1811 to 1815, when she married and her connection with the office ceased the next year. She remembers J. Harrison Lambdin, a lad who was in the employ of Rev. Robert Patterson, and there was an evident intimacy between him and Rigdon. "They very often came to the office together. I particularly remember that they would come there the hour on Sabbath afternoon when the office was required to be open, and I am sure the Rev. Mr. Patterson knew nothing of this or he would have put a stop to it. I do not know what position, if any, Rigdon filled in Mr. Patterson's printing office, but I am well assured he was * A new headstone has recently been erected with the old inscription. 186 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY there a great deal of the time, if not constantly, while I was a clerk in the postoffice. I recall Mr. Engles saying Rigdon was 'always hanging around the printing office.' He was connected with the tannery before he became a preacher, though he may have continued the business while preaching."It has been insisted that Rigdon was not employed in Patterson's printing business. This fact is immaterial as he may have been temporarily employed by Robert Patterson, or his firm, in other business, for, by the Pittsburg Directory, published in 1815, Robert Patterson was wholesale and retail book seller and stationer, S. E. corner Wood and Fourth streets, and there was a steam paper-mill in the town, "owned by Robert Patterson & Co., in which great quantities of excellent paper are made, and of all varieties." Patterson may have been an employer of Rigdon and not have known it, as his own business and that of the company was extensive and the town of Pittsburg then had an estimated population of upwards of 9,000. Rigdon took charge of a small Bpatist congregation in Pittsburg in 1822. He had been there only a few months until his preaching of peculiar doctrines dissatisfied the people and he was excluded from the ministry by a council of the Baptist ministers on October 11, 1823. * His location and business for the next three years are not definitely shown. In the Story of the Mormons (Linn, 1902, page 60) it is stated that Rigdon was a tanner for a couple of years and that he announced his withdrawal from the church in 1824. He preached as an undenominational exhorter in Bainbridge, Ohio, and was called to Mentor in 1826. He became a stated minister of the Disciple Church about the year 1827, and preached with Thomas Campbell at Schalerville, Ohio, in 1828. In 1820 Alexander Campbell, who was then a Baptist, called him "the great orator of the Mahoning Association." In 1821, with Alexander Campbell, he spent almost all night in religious discussion and in 1828 fell out with the Campbells over the doctrine of Community of Goods. About this time the air was thick with news of a new religion and a new Bible among the Ohio Disciples. Rigdon, between 1827 and 1830, then a Campbellite minister in Ohio, preached new matters of doctrine which were afterwards found to be included in the Mormon Bible. His preaching the duty of bringing all your possessions and laying them at the Apostle's feet was one of the charges which led to his removal from the Pittsburg church. This absorbing of all wealth by the rulers of the Mormon Church is one of the strongest corner stones of that organization. Rev. John Winter, M. D., known to many in western Pennsylvania, testified that he was in Rigdon's study in Pittsburg in the winter of 1822-1823; that Rigdon took from his desk a large manuscript and said in substance, "A Presbyterian minister, Mr. Spaulding, whose health failed, brought this to the printer to see if it would pay to publish it. It is a romance of the Bible." Rev. A. J. Bonsall, Lit. D., recently pastor of the Baptist church in Rochester, Pa., and now, or recently, in Allegheny, Pa., states that Doctor Winter, who was his stepfather, often referred to this incident, saying that the manuscript purported to be a history of the American Indian, and that Rigdon said he got it from the printers. Mrs. Mary W. Irvine, of Sharon, Pa., Doctor Winter's daughter, says: "I have frequently heard my father speak of Rigdon's having Spaulding's manuscript; that he said he got it from the printer to read as a curiosity. As such he showed it to my father, but then seemed to have no intention of using it, as he evidently afterward did. Father always said that Rigdon helped Smith in his scheme by revising and transforming this manuscript into the Mormon Bible, As late as 1879, a Mrs. Amos Dunlap, of Warren, Ohio, wrote of having visited the Rigdons when she was young and of his taking a large manuscript from his trunk and becoming greatly absorbed in it. His wife threatened to burn it, but he said, "No, indeed, you will not; this will be a great thing some day." ** That Rigdon knew at least two years beforehand that the Mormon Bible was coming out and of its being founded on golden plates, is proved by a letter of his brother-in-law, Rev. Adamson Bentley, *** the celebrated Disciple preacher in Ohio, and by Darwin Atwater, to whom Rigdon spoke with great interest of a mound book soon to be published. It is necessary to introduce Joseph Smith, a poverty-stricken, uneducated boy, who could not write legibly, who had a weak reputation for truth and who had obtained considerable notoriety as a secret treasure and money hunter by the use of a "peep stone" and by stories of dreams and visions. He was born in New York, near the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania [sic - Vermont?], in 1805, so reported, and was 25 years old when he had the Book of Mormon printed, in Palmyra, New York. Rigdon had joined with the Campbells in preaching against all sects, and Smith proclaimed that no sects were right and all creeds an abomination. Those views were expressed before the publication of the book. At what date these men first met or heard of each other is not known. Smith's statements are numerous and sometimes contradictory. Even the date he gives as his birth cannot be accepted as true, for it does not agree with the statement * Three Important Movements (by Rev. W. A. Stanton, D. D., 1907, page 19. ** Three Important Movements (Stanton, page 38.) *** Bentley went into the Mormon association, but soon withdrew [sic]. HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY 187 made by the renowned Thurlow Weed. This well-known editor states in Scribner's Magazine (1880), Vol. 20, page 616, that Joseph Smith was about 30 years of age when he came to him at Rochester, New York, to have printed a book, from which he read until Weed became weary of what he called "the incomprehensible jargon." He returned again with Harris, who agreed to furnish the money, but the editor had discovered that Smith "was a smooth, scheming fellow who passed his time in taverns and stores in Palmyra, without visible means of support," and refused him. Weed says the book was afterward published in Palmyra.According to the date given by Smith, he would only be a boy of 20 years when Weed saw him, and if Smith could be believed, he did not get possession of the material -- plates -- from which to make a book until two years after he went to Weed to have it published. Another link in the Mormon chain was Parley Parker Pratt, who was said to be two years younger than Smith, a tin peddler born in New York State. In 1826 he spent a few months in Wayne County (formerly Ontario County), New York, where Smith was at that time getting much notoriety as a peep-stone money and treasure hunter by newspapers published in several counties in southern New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. Pratt was then well acquainted with the Wells family, neighbors and friends of these Smiths. This same year Pratt went to Amhurst, O., about fifty miles from Kirtland, and Rigdon went a second time to Ohio in the region near Cleveland, and became an itinerant Disciple preacher at Bainbridge, Mantua, Kirtland, Mentor, Chester, New Lisbon, and Warren. The date of the first meeting of Pratt and Rigdon is nowhere given, but may be inferred from Pratt's address in 1843 or '44, relating a vision he had on his way to his future home in Ohio in which he said an angel visited him in a humble cottage, who held the keys of mystery and showed him the future of Mormonism; its cities with inhabitants from all parts of the globe. In 1827, Pratt went back from Ohio to New York to marry, and on July 4, reached his Aunt Van Cott's and "opened his religious views" to his future wife. In September he married and on September 22nd, a heavenly messenger appeared to Smith revealing the location of the golden plates. Smith says this was the angel Maroni. Perhaps he was mistaken, and it was only Pratt -- or was it Rigdon. It would be interesting to know what were these religious views that man, who had not yet made a profession of religion, was conveying from Ohio to New York State. In October, Pratt went back to Ohio and shortly after, was converted under the preaching of Rigdon, then a Campbellite, and commenced preaching, evidently preparing for his part soon to come off. A mysterious stranger afterwards appeared at Smith's, and after his visit, or about that time, began the translation of the plates. No name for this stranger was given to the neighbors. About this time Rigdon was away from his Ohio home on several long visits, leaving word that he had gone to Pittsburg. Abel Chase, a near neighbor of Smith, says he saw Rigdon at Smith's at different times with considerable intervals between. Lorenzo Saunders, another neighbor, testifies, "I saw Rigdon at Smith's several times, and the first visit was more than two years before the book appeared." J. H. McCaulay, in the History of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, states: "It is a matter too well known to admit argument that Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, and Sidney Rigdon were acquainted for a considerable time before Mormonism was first heard of." The time had come when the old manuscript could be brought forth, for Robert Patterson, of Pittsburg, was unfamiliar with its contents, J. Harrison Lambdin, his clerk and former close acquaintance of Rigdon, had died August 21, 1825, and Silas Engles, the foreman who had examined Spaulding's manuscript with a view of printing it had died July 17, 1827. The mysterious golden plates with their hieroglyphics, the imaginary objects created by Solomon Spaulding, were translated by Joseph Smith alone, because, according to his revelations, no mortal could behold them but himself and live. Smith claimed to be receiving revelations from June, 1828, to June 1829. From behind curtains he would doctate translations made by using two magic stones, and Martin Harris, who was expected to supply the money for the printing, was the scribe. The scribe's wife considered the work folly, and burned what her husband had laboriously written. This was in 1828. Ten months passed when there were no translations. Some translations were made, and written by Smith's wife. Oliver Cowdery appeared April 7, 1829, and the work of writing was again begun, and was completed by him. The book was ready for the press in June, and copyrighted, June 11, 1829. Tucker, the proofreader, says it was a difficult work to get a copy intelligently in print. It took eight months. There were no punctuation marks. The book was issued from the press in the summer of 1830. The title page, as taken from "The Book of Mormon," found in the Historical Society of Washington County, ends as follows:
BY JOSEPH SMITH, JUNIOR, 188 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY It is a significant fact that later editions of this book do not give Joseph Smith the credit of being "Author and Proprietor." *There was no demand fpr the Book in Palmyra. It was now a ripe time for the preachers Rigdon and Pratt, of Ohio, to be astonished by its appearance. That summer Pratt left Ohio to visit in New York, going by way of Buffalo and by canal boat. His own account of the trip says, "It cost all our money and some articles of clothing." He left his wife at Rochester, saying he had work to do, "How long, I know not, nor the nature of it." He walked ten miles to the home of Mr. Wells, and proposed to preach in the evening, and Wells and he circulated the news of the appointment. He visited an old Baptist deacon named Hamlin, who told him of a strange book in his possession just published. He writes that "The next morning I saw the book for the first time, and as I read the Spirit of the Lord was upon me and I knew the book was true as plainly and as manifestly as a man comprehends and knows that he exists." Pratt visited in Palmyra, spent the night with Hyrum Smith, as Joseph had not returned from Pennsylvania. In the morning Pratt returned to preach the gospel of Alexander Campbell, after being presented with a copy of the book by Hyrum Smith. He preached the doctrine of the Disciples that night and the following night, and then returned to the Smith's and thnce to Whitmer's in Seneca County the next night, and took his Mormon Baptism the following night. On the next Sabbath, he attended a Mormon meeting and preached a Mormon sermon at the house of Borroughs. Speaking of this trip, he says, "My work is now complete for which I took leave of my wife at the canal boat some two or three weeks before." At one time he had said, "I was very prejudiced against the Book." At another time he said, "I bore testimony of its truth to the neighbors who came in there the first day that I sat reading at the house of an old Baptist deacon named Hamlin." There are various reports of the time of his conversion and that he did not see Joseph Smith until a month after. In October, 1830, Pratt, being still in New York and having converted his relatives, revelations from the Lord through Joseph Smith directed him to go with Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, and Ziba Peterson into the wilderness and preach to the Lamanites (Indians). As Pratt had sold some of his clothing, Smith's sister and others "began to make for those who were thus set apart, the necessary clothing, most of which had to be manufactured out of raw material." Pratt left his wife with his newly found brethren, took leave of friends, and in October, started out on foot on the 370 miles to Kirtland, Ohio, preaching by the way even to the Indians. The principal Lamanite they were after was Sidney Rigdon, and at their first interview with him, Pratt requested the privilege of preaching Mormonism in Rigdon's pulpit and received a ready consent. Rigdon's conversion was an easy task soon finished with baptism. By the end of November, Rigdon had visited at Smith's home in New York State, and on December 7th, received a special revelation through Smith, that he was the messenger sent before to clear the way. He preached in Smith's neighborhood. The next month, January, 1831, Rigdon returned to Ohio bringing Smith with him, where they soon had control of a congregation at Kirtland, the home and congregation of the late Disciple Rigdon. Pioneers in a ciuntry where there was little to give variety in their life were easily influenced by any religious excitement. At no time was there more wide-spread interest in the speedy coming of Christ and the Day of Judgment than during the years when the organization of the Mormon Church was taking place. The Disciples expected it. There are many yet living in Washington County who can recall the dread they had as little children when hearing the fireside talk of the Millerites predicting the early destruction of the world. Many thousands became Second Adventists, believing the interpretation of biblical prophecies by William Miller, of Washington County, New York, declaring in 1831 to 1833 the destruction of the world as certain to take place in 1843, and many other thousands shuddered as they thought, "if it be true, what shall I do?" The Mormon Church was now organized with Joseph Smith as president, prophet, and seer, and Rigdon and Williams as chief counselors. Smith was jealous of his sole right to receive revelations and it was not long until there was dissatisfaction on this point. From this time onwards, Rigdon, the religious minister, was at the mercy of Joseph Smith, the receiver of visions and revelations. It was said by one of the members of the organization that when they wished a revelation on any subject, they were sure toi receive what they wanted. The Mormon Bible became of little importance and the church structure was built on Smith's revelations, which were absolute, and from which there was no appeal. Whitmer, a prominent member in the early organization, wrote that "Rigdon was a thorough Bible scholar and a man of fine education and a powerful orator. He soon worked himself deep into Brother Joseph's affections and had more influence over him than any other man living. He was Brother Joseph's private counselor and his most intimate friend and brother for some time after they met. * * * Rigdon was the cause of almost all the errors which were introduced while he was * Creigh's History of Washington County, 1891, speaks of another edition published by J. O. Wright & Co. of New York. HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY 189 in the church. The high priest was a revelation according to their erring desires."A friend of both said, "Rigdon did not possess the native intelligence of Smith and lacked his determined will." They had been together only about six months when Smith had a revelation, August, 1831, as follows: "And now behold I say unto you, I, the Lord, am not pleased with my servant Sidney Rigdon. He exalted himself in his heart and received not my counsels, but grieveth the spirit, wherefore his writing is not acceptable unto the Lord." As early as 1832, Smith described Rigdon as "delirious." This may have been after March 25th of that year, when both were mobbed, tarred and feathered, and Rigdon was dragged by the heels so he could not raise his head from the frozen ground. The idea of polygamy was early introduced by Smith. One of his followers says, "Joseph taught me the principal of plural marriage and I was married to him for time and eternity. In consequence of the ignorance of most of the Saints as well as the people of the world on this subject, it was not mentioned only privately between the few whose minds were enlightened on the subject." The idea included not merely that one man should have more than one wife, but that each wife should be "sealed" to a man other than her own husband, either a living man or a dead Saint, and that without such form or ceremony she could not be saved in the next world. Rigdon was finally driven from the church in 1843, and when Smith was assassinated in 1844, during his candidacy for President of the United States, his final expulsion occurred through the influence of Brigham Young, who then became leader, and who openly taunted him before the council, saying, "Sidney says he will tell our secrets, but I say, 'tit for tat,' if he tells our secrets, we will tell his." Rigdon established a paper in Pittsburg and attempted to establish another church but the Pittsburg people ridiculed his visions and revelations. He claimed to have a body of followers in a room in Pittsburg during the great fire in Pittsburg in 1845 when a large part of that city was burned, and that the angels in the room left the room and changed the direction of the winds and saved the city from complete destruction. His life's work was ended and he lived a disappointed, solitary life with relatives until his death in New York in July, 1876. He never revealed, so far as is known, his connection with the book, although he claimed he had written a statement of some kind which he had not been able to get published. It would seem that the fearsome oaths of Mormonism forever intimidated him. At the census of 1900, the Mormon Church is said to have 325,000 members, of which 20,000 are outside the United States, and students of the subject claim that with the balance of power in so many states, the Mormon people are the most threatening danger in our nation. |
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Document: Earle R. Forrest's comments (excerpts) Source: Forrest, Earle R.: History of Washington County (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1926) Title page Rigdon & Halcyonites Solomon Spalding A. S. Root #1 A. S. Root #2 Transcriber's comments 1781 map 1792 map |
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HISTORY OF W A S H I N G T O N C O U N T Y By EARLE R. FORREST VOLUME I ILLUSTRATED Chicago The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company 1926 |
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY 595 1811, in a deep pool in Buffalo Creek, two miles from the mouth of Brush Run, on the David Bryant farm. In 1818, Rev. Alexander Campbell opened a school for young men, which he called Buffalo Seminary, located near the school taught by the Rev. Joseph Smith four years before. This school continued for about five years. It is interesting to note at this point that the old Pleasant Hill Female Seminary, near West Middletown, was founded by Mrs. Jane McKeever, a sister of Alexander Campbell. While in Washington Alexander Campbell resided in a two-story log house which stood at the corner of South College Street and East Strawberry Avenue. It was razed about 1905. The church in which he preached while here is still standing, but it is now a garage. It stands in West Wheeling Street, and is the property of Dr. George Kelly. About eight years ago an addition was erected in front and it is now used as the Robinson garage. In 1821, Sidney Rigdon held many sessions with Rev. Alexander Campbell, and as a result Rigdon received a call to the Baptist church in Pittsburgh in 1822, but on October 11, 1823, he was excluded from that church and deposed from the ministry. Rigdon, with Joseph Smith was one of the founders of the Mormon Church; and it was through Rigdon, according to those opposed to the Mormons that Smith secured the famous "Manuscript Found," written by Solomon Spaulding, upon which the Book of Mormon is alleged to have been based. More will be found in another chapter on this subject. The result of the early teachings of Thomas and Alexander Campbell is the Christian Church of the United States today; and Bethany College, at Bethany, West Virginia, one of the educational institutions of that denomination, was founded by Alexander Campbell, after he left Washington County. Several religious organizations known as the Halyconites, Rhodianites and New Light sects existed in old Finley Township about 1807. The leader of the Halyconites was a man named Sergeant, who professed to have received a revelation from heaven, through an angel, in which he declared it was communicated to him that there was no hell. He preached throughout that section for three years and had many followers. He was afterwards arrested and imprisoned at Cumberland, Maryland, for forgery. This was the death blow to the Halcyonites. Among the followers of Sergeant in Finley Township was an old lady named Rhoda Fordyce, who now came forward, and in addition to the doctrine that there was no hell taught that it was possible for people to live entirely on a vegetable diet such as parched corn, sassafras buds, and other vegetables and herbs, for a certain number of days after which they would be transformed bodily to heaven. This sect was called the Rhodianites. A man named Parker, who attempted to carry out this doctrine, was starved to death in the Fordyce woman's house. She kept the body concealed in her house for three days and three nights, after which he was missed by the neighbors, who broke in the door of the dwelling and found the body. The forming of a chain was another doctrine taught by the Fordyce 596 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY woman. This ceremony required a man and a woman to make a chain. Each was sewed in a separate sack by the Fordyce woman, with only their heads out and their arms tied together against the body, after which they were brought before Mrs. Fordyce as inspector general, and if they stated that they had slept innocently together they became a link in the chain of the Rhodianite Church. Tradition says that many husbands were separated from their wives to form a link in this organization. The New Lights, made up of converts of the Halcyonites and Rhodianites, grew very strong in that section after the downfall of Mrs. Fordyce. They believed in immersion as the true mode of baptism, and that Christ was not equal to God. They also believed in washing each other's feet at their communion. This sect increased very rapidly and were strong in Southwestern Washington County for several years where they held both camp and bush meetings both in Pennsylvania and in West Virginia.
(remainder of page not transcribed)
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Creigh states that Solomon Spalding was "an antiquarian, and travelled far and near to investigate, scientifically... American antiquities, for the purpose of tracing the aborigines to their original source... the lost tribes of ancient Israel." While there may be some general element of truth to this statement, Creigh gives no source for it and its value in reconstructing Spalding's beliefs and activities is uncertain. The same might be said of Creigh's remark, that Spalding "actually entered into a contract with a Mr. Patterson, of Pittsburg, to publish the same [manuscript book], but from some cause the contract was not fulfilled." His source for this latter information was apparently Spalding's old friend, Joseph Miller, Sr. of Amity. Creigh promises to provide "the testimony of living witnesses" regarding the Spalding authorship claims, but only supplies the 1869 statement of Joseph Miller, Sr. This originally appeared in the Washington, PA Reporter, on April 8, 1869. Creigh's reading of Miller's letter apparently provided him with the idea of including the Spalding authorship claims in the history of Washington county that he was then still writing. Creigh's use of the 1869 Miller statement helped to preserve and popularize Miller's unique recollections of Solomon Spalding's brief residence in the village of Amity. Little else appeared in print in western Pennsylvania concerning Spalding and the old claim that he wrote the Book of Mormon, until Creigh himself expanded upon his earlier account with an enlarged article, published by Robert Patterson, Jr. in the Feb. 12, 1879 issue of the Pittsburgh Presbyterian Banner. Robert Patterson, Jr. was at least marginally involved in investigations of the Spalding claims as early as November of 1878, when the Rev. Samuel Williams contacted Patterson about his father's contact with Spalding in Pittsburgh c. 1812-1816. Through Williams Patterson soon came into contact with the highly motivated Spalding claims researcher, James T. Cobb of Salt Lake City and much of Cobb's enthusiasm for this line of research seems to have quickly rubbed off onto Patterson. Whether Patterson solicited the Feb. 12, 1879 article from Creigh, or whether it was Creigh who first approached Patterson on that matter remains unknown. At the very least the interests of both Creigh and Patterson regarding the Spalding authorship claims appear to have converged early in 1879. From that point forward it would be Robert Patterson, Jr. who carried forward the primary research on the subject in western Pennsylvania.  (view 1792 map of the county)
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