The New Settlement
About a hundred years ago, four young married men left Pennsylvania to seek their fortune in New Virginia, then the most distant frontier, and still exposed to the invasion of the savages. But the country was inviting, the land fertile and well watered. They took up land in the same neighborhood. They did not consider the evil of bringing up families where there was no gospel preached, no public worship on the Sabbath, and no school for their children.
Indeed, there is some reason to think that one of them, at least, sought a dwelling in the wilderness to get far away from the sound of faithful preaching; for the great revival which occurred a little before, had prevailed in that part of Pennsylvania where he lived, and probably he had for a while been under serious impressions, but had shaken them all off. This man cherished a hatred to vital piety, which is seldom found so strong in any as in those who have once been somewhat concerned for their salvation. The last state of apostates is worse than the first.
One day a shoemaker came directly from this aged man’s house to my father’s to make winter shoes for the children; for in those days, and in that new country, both shoemakers and tailors were itinerant. This man was piously disposed, and very fond of reading pious books and sermons, and commonly had some in his wallet with his tools, which he was accustomed to read to the family where he was at work. On coming into the house he appeared somewhat agitated, and immediately told what had occurred at the house of this aged man. Being well acquainted, as he was passing through his yard, he stepped in to say “how do ye “to the family, and to warm himself; and while sitting by the fire he said to the old gentleman, tt I have with me one of the most delightful books I ever saw.” The old gentleman, who was fond of reading, asked him what it was. He answered, “Whitefield’s Sermons,” which had been recently published. In a moment the wrath of the master of the house was kindled to fury. His eyes flashed, and his countenance was inflamed. He rose to his feet, and with a threatening gesture said, “You Ye a liar, so you are; you ‘re a liar.” The shoemaker, alarmed lest he should receive a stroke, stepped out of the house, and pursued his way through the fields; but the old farmer went out after him, and stood in the yard, and hallooed at the top of his voice, as long as he could hear him? “You We a liar, you’re a liar”
This event, which occurred long after the settlement of these four men, is here related to show the violent antipathy which one of them cherished towards good men and evangelical preachers.
But to return. Each of these men secured land of the very best quality, and as the country around became settled, their land every year increased in value. But they had no preaching for their families, nor schools for their children. The boys of each of them were taught to work, but as they grew up to manhood, they spent much of their time in hunting deer; and in the autumn a whole company would go out into the neighboring mountains to hunt bears, where they would remain encamped in the woods until they had taken as many as they wanted.
As these young men had received no religious instruction, they were under no restraint, except from the presence of their fathers, which was thrown off as soon as they got out of their sight.
In a new country there are many occasions on which the people come together to help one another, such as house-raisings, corn-huskings, log-rolling, etc. These, to the young men, were seasons of athletic sports, which frequently ended in bloody battles. Or, if prevented from seeking revenge at the time by the presence of superiors, they would harbor vindictive feelings until a fit occasion for venting them would occur. Thus the worst passions were generated and cherished. And as to religion, they knew nothing of it, except that it was intended to be a restraint on them, and therefore they hated it, and every one who professed it.
At length, when the country became more thickly settled, itinerant preachers visited these destitute settlements. The first who visited this new country was the celebrated evangelist William Robinson, who penetrated into every part of the country where little knots of Presbyterians were settled, that he might preach the gospel where Christ had not been yet named. This being then the remotest settlement of white people towards the west, he here ended his journey in that direction, and crossing the Blue Ridge, pursued his course to North Carolina. In every other place where this devoted servant of Christ preached, I have found seals of his ministry, except in this neighborhood. Whether these men attended his ministry, is not certain. One of them, whose temper has already been described, in all probability did not; but the writer recollects hearing another of them speak of Mr. Robinson’s visit as though he had heard him. And it is probable that some of the female members of these families derived saving benefit from the gospel at this time, for it is known that some of them were pious and exemplary even to extreme old age.
These merciful visits of evangelical preachers to new settlements are generally attended with a blessing to some precious souls. The writer, when young, was employed in preaching to people in such a situation, and he has never seen anywhere congregations which so interested him, and which appeared to be so much interested themselves. On the morning of the Sabbath, long before the time of meeting, you might see companies coming out of the woods by narrow paths, some on horseback, and not unfrequently two or three on one horse, and more on foot, all eagerly pressing on to the place of preaching, which was commonly a tent, as it was called, in a grove or forest. When the preacher appeared, all eyes would be fixed upon him, and the congregation, old and young, would seem to catch every thought, and drink in the word as a thirsty man drinks from a cool spring. Every word of divine truth, in such circumstances, seemed to take effect. Old Christians, long deprived of the public means of grace, would weep for joy, and hardly know how to contain themselves; and often the younger part of the assembly, who had scarcely ever heard a sermon before, would be affected to tears at hearing of the love of God, of the sufferings of Christ, of heaven, and of hell. Sometimes, under an impressive discourse, the whole- congregation would be moved like the trees of the forest under a mighty wind, and would, as though all partook of one feeling, be melted into tears. Preaching to people in such circumstances is truly delightful. The pleasure, to a benevolent mind, is far greater than feeding a famished multitude with the bread that perishes. True, these impressions are, in many cases, transient; but they are salutary, and leave on the mind an impression favorable to religion, and lodge convictions of the necessity of a change deep in the conscience. But, as was said, preaching to those who are not gospel-hardened, is commonly attended with a saving effect on some hearers; an arrow is made to transfix the mind of some careless sinner, and the wound is not healed until application is made of the balm of Gilead.
But whosoever else might be benefited, our four farmers and their sons received no profit. They continued as irreligious and worldly-minded as before, after all these evangelical visits. When it was proposed to erect a meeting-house, they were, though the wealthiest in the neighborhood, the most lukewarm and backward in promoting the object, and their contributions, grudgingly given, were smaller than those of some poor men. They were, however, very forward in getting up a dancing-school, and setting on foot balls for the young people. They, it is true, had never been taught this fascinating art, but they said they felt the want of it, and were determined that their children should have the opportunity of rubbing off that rusticity and awkwardness which they would be sure to contract, unless they had some means of this kind to polish their manners, and give them ease in company. These arguments prevailed with some not very consistent professors of religion, and especially with such as were well off in the world.
When the new settlement became more populous, the want of regular preaching on the Sabbath began to be felt by serious people who had once enjoyed gospel privileges, and some measures were taken to get ministers from the north to come and preach for them; and these efforts were not unsuccessful, for one and another were sent by some northern presbytery; but the people were solicitous to get a minister to abide with them constantly, and several attempts were made which proved unsuccessful, either because they could not raise a sufficient salary, or because these itinerant preachers were unwilling to settle in a country so new and so little improved.
But preachers make a great mistake when they wait for society to be formed, before they will cast in their lot among a people; for it is exceedingly important that there should be a good seasoning of religion in the mass while it is assuming a fixed form. Pious and able ministers are, therefore, more needed while society is in a forming state, than at any other period.
For the want of regular worship on the Sabbath, the young people could not be controlled; they would run about, and spend the day unprofitably. In one neighborhood, where there was a cluster of warm-hearted, pious people, they met at each others’ houses on the Sabbath, and sung and prayed; and if any of them had met with a good evangelical sermon, it was
Prac. Truths. 1 1 read at these meetings. But the young men could not be persuaded to attend these prayer-meetings. They said, “Get a good preacher, and we shall be pleased to attend.” But in the neighborhood of the four families which had settled together, there was no kind of worship attempted; and their young men were noted through the country for their profanity and for their ferocity. Wherever they went, they picked quarrels with other young men; which disputes were cpmmonly decided by bloody battles with the fist.
Affairs went on thus until, at length, a young man from the north, who had come on as a teacher, obtained license to preach, and agreed to give one half his time to this settlement. These four families, however, which were the wealthiest in the neighborhood, manifested no anxiety to have a minister; and when he came, they soon pretended to* take offence at something which he said, or which they had heard that he had said, and in consequence absented themselves from his ministry. Their families, however, attended, and they paid a moderate sum to aid in supporting the preacher. A great exertion was now made to put up a meeting-house; and by getting the members of the congregation to furnish the materials, and to do much of the work, a shell of a frame building sufficient to hold several hundred people, was erected and covered, and the floor laid down. These dissipated youngmen were sure to be at meeting, but they seldom came into the house; but would sit at a distance under some large trees, and spend the time in cursing and abusing the minister and all good people. They were accustomed also to carry a flask of whiskey in their pockets, and sometimes would carry it in large reeds used as walking-canes, and while the minister was preaching, they would be drinking at the spring.
One day, while they were amusing themselves outside the house, a stone, thrown by one of them, hit the side of the house, and made a startling noise. On which one of the elders came out and reproved them sharply, and directed his discourse especially to one who was the least wicked of them all, in the public opinion. This young man had not thrown the stone, and being exasperated that he should be thus reproved, as soon as the congregation was dismissed, he went into the house and in great anger swore that the thing was not done by him, and that he would not suffer himself to be thus falsely accused. He then, in the presence of the minister and elders, and of such of the people as had not left the house, swore by his Maker that he would never enter that house while he lived. Everybody was shocked at the daring impiety of this young man, and great surprise was expressed too, as he had been considered of a more quiet, sober turn than any of the others. The minister was indeed horror-struck.
It was a custom, brought by the Scotch-Irish people from the north of Ireland, that when any person died they held a wake; that is, all the neighbors, and especially the young people, sat up all night with the corpse. The house would commonly be crowded with people, who sat on boards or benches placed for the purpose. This custom was intended, doubtless, to prevent the sad feeling of loneliness in the family of the deceased, and to express sympathy with them in their affliction. But many evils attended such meetings. One was, that it became customary to carry about several times during the night stewed whiskey or hot punch, made very sweet, and many drank to excess. Other evil consequences, any one may see, would naturally be produced by such promiscuous meetings of both sexes. No religious exercises were ever permitted at these wakes, and the wildest and most irreligious were fond of attending them.
Another evil custom brought from Ireland*- now obsolete, it is to be hoped, was the presenting strong drink to every man, woman, and child who came to a funeral. A person would stand without and meet the people as they arrived, and urge them to drink out of a bottle or jug which he held in his hand, and to refuse was counted disrespectful to the family.
But to return to the thread of my story. The young man who had behaved so impiously in the meeting-house, a few weeks after was about to go to a wake, where the wife of one of the four farmers lay a corpse; and his family understood that he was going directly to the place, not a mile off. But next morning one of his cousins, who had been sitting up at the wake, called to learn why he had not been there; and was informed that he had set out to go soon after dark. The young man, fearing some accident had happened, stepped to the barn, and there, on the barn floor, lay the unhappy man weltering in his blood, and stiff in death. He had gone up to the hay-loft to throw down some hay for his horses; his foot had slipped, and being a heavy man, he fell head foremost on the hard floor, and his brains were dashed out. The wretched young man’s oath was verified, that “while he lived he would never enter that church again.” For, the next time he came, it was a corpse, to be laid in the silent grave. The minister preached on the occasion an alarming discourse, which for a time made an awful impression on the young man’s companions. But this soon wore off, and they became, if possible, worse than before.
One of the three concerned in disturbing the worship of God, was a handsome young man of robust health, who had just brought home a beautiful woman for his wife. Being fond of sporting, and being invited by a man who had recently come to the settlement, to go out with him a hunting, he went; but never returned alive. The gun of this man, while they were passing through a thick wood, went off, and shot him through the body. Whether the act was accidental or designed, will never be known till the judgment-day. There were suspicious circumstances attending the case. The man, after his companion was shot, instead of coming and declaring what had happened, went and shut himself up in his own house, and would suffer no one to come in for some time. A court of inquiry was held, but nothing positive could be proved. One man, however, swore, that riding with this man at a certain time, in a certain lane, he declared that he would be revenged on the deceased for some offence received.
A circumstance which renders this testimony remarkable, is, that this man whose gun had killed the deceased, a few months afterwards, riding along the public way, in this same lane, was thrown from his horse, and fell across a sharp rock, and broke his spine about the middle. He was a man of giant size and strength. His lower parts remained immovable, and his agony was great for a number of weeks, when he died miserably.
The third of these young men came to an early, but not a violent death, yet more shocking than either of the others; for he not only died impenitent, but with every expression of hardened impiety. When the minister came to see him, he would have nothing to say to him. And when he asked him whether he should pray for him, he said that he might pray if he chose, but he wanted none of his prayers.
Verily there is a God that ruleth upon the earth, and though he often forbears to punish impious conduct in this life, yet sometimes he does seem to follow the open contempt of his worship with a signal manifestation of his displeasure. This has been a matter of observation in all ages of the world.
Other people have now come in the place of those four wealthy families. Scarcely a descendant of any of them is now to be found in the fertile region which their fathers possessed. “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree: yet he passed away, and lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.” “For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.” “The wicked is driven away in his wickedness”