Robert Milliken, Esquire

MORRIS TOWNSHIP.

ROBERT MILLIKEN was born in Ireland in 1772, and died in 1865. He was one of the early commissioners of Greene County, and was the first Justice of the Peace of Morris Township. He built a house on the site of Waynesburg, where John Buchanan's house stands, about the year 1798. He was a brick moulder by trade, and built the first brick Court House in Greene County in the year 1800. To this time courts had been held in the house since occupied by Charles S. Hickey. He married Mary, a daughter of David Gray. He afterwards owned the farm on Brown's Fork, Morris Township, now owned by his son, James Milliken. Mrs. Mary Milliken was one of two children that made the midnight flight to Jackson's fort, elsewhere mentioned.

The principal village in this township bears the bible name of Nineveh, pleasantly located on Brown's Fork of Ten Mile Creek. William Day purchased a small plot of ground on which the village is located as late as 1845, and having erected a small house, his son Francis opened a store therein. Mr. Day laid out streets through his plot of ground and soon a number of dwellings were erected. In 1850 a Cumberland Presbyterian Church was built, which was thoroughly repaired and modernized in 1881. The place has become of considerable importance as a business center, being in the midst of a fine agricultural section. A wagon shop is reputed to turn out excellent work. It has a substantial brick school building.

The Bates' Fork Baptist Church is located near Sycamore Station on the Waynesburg railroad close to the border of Washington Township. It was organized on the 29th of December, 1842, by Revs. Isaac Pettit, Levi Griffith, William Woods and Thomas Richards. Fifty one members were received by letter. Lewis Ketchum, Thomas Taylor and John Pettit were chosen deacons. The following named persons have officiated as pastors, as shown by its records: Elders Pettit, Sigfried, Pool, Ellis, Richards, Camonson, Charles Tilton, Parcell, Rossell, Scott, Morgan and Tilton.

The Beulah Baptist Church is located on the watershed which divides the basins of Ten Mile and Wheeling creeks, near the Washington County line. The meetings were first held at the house of Lewis Ketchum as early as 1823. Elder Isaac Pettit was one of the early laborers, though for several years preaching was had only occasionally, and sometimes at long intervals. In 1843 Elder Trevor Richards commenced preaching once a month at the school house near by. Soon afterwards a church organization was effected, Elders Pettit, Brown and Richards officiating on the occasion, and a house of worship was built. The following named persons have officiated as pastors or supply: Elders Trevor Richards, John Thomas, William Whitehead, Charles Tilton, Caleb IRossel, S. L. Pareell, Job Rossel, H. K. Craig, W. F. Burwell, Patton, C. Haven. The church has been weakened from time to time by withdrawals to found other churches and to unite with other organizations.

The Methodist Episcopal Church of Nineveh, Greene County, Pa., was organized January 31, 1881, with five members, viz.: W. S. Throckmorton M. D., and wife; John Vancleve and wife, and Edward McVey. During the preceding summer the first church building was erected. The society then organized was in the Waynesburg circuit, Pittsburg Conference, Rev. W. D. Sleas, pastor, with Rev. Geo. IL Huffman as his colleague.

The society at once began to exercise a marked influence on the community, so that at the close of the first year a membership of sixty five bad been gathered into the church.

Rev. E. S. White succeeded to the pastorate, and during his term a new charge was formed, composed of Nineveh and Hopewell, a society that had been organized perhaps sixty years before.

On December 29, 1883, the beautiful little church building at Nineveh was entirely consumed by fire, and but for the faith, courage and liberality of Dr. Throckmorton and his devoted wife this growing and promising society must have been blotted out. On the next day, Sunday Dec. 30, the Quarterly Conference was reconvened and resolved to rebuild. The same building committee was reappointed and the work began at once.

On Monday the smoking debris was cleared away and preparatory work for rebuilding was vigorously begun.

On Sunday Sept. 21, 1884, the new church building, superior in every respect to the one it has replaced, was dedicated.

During the time of its erection, one of the most commodious, convenient and comfortable parsonages, within the bounds of the conference, was also erected by the charge on a beautiful lot adjoining the church.

Rev. R. S. Ross succeeded to the pastorate, and during his term of three years, provision was made for the liquidation of all debts against the church and parsonage, and the membership grew to one hundred and twenty. In all departments of church work the society has prospered while it has gained proportionately in temporal things. At present (1888) the charge is under the pastoral care of Rev. N. P. Kerr.

The Unity Presbyterian Church at Harvey's, Greene County, was organized in 1814. In the spring of that year the Presbytery appointed a committee consisting of Rev. John Anderson and Rev. Joseph Stevenson to organize a church here. Among those of Presbyterian faith who had settled in this neighborhood was Francis Braddock who came in 1805 and occupied the farm now held by his son, J. H. Braddock. In 1812 Moses and Thomas Dinsmore came and secured lands where their descendants now live.

The committee appointed by the Presbytery met on August 27, 1814, at the house of David Gray, now occupied by Mrs. McClelland, where after holding religious service the Church of Unity was formed. The ruling elders ordained and installed were David Gray, Jacob Rickey, Francis Braddock and Moses Dinsmore. The families of Messrs. Dodd, Holden and Kent were also represented in the organization. Supplies were appointed by Presbytery who came about six times a year and received from two to five dollars per Sabbath for their services. The Sacrament of the Lord's supper was usually administered in autumn when the roads were good. The names of some of those who came as supplies were Rev. John Anderson, Joseph Stevenson, James Hervey, David Hervey, Reed, Marquis; Dodd, McCurdy, Mercer, Moore, Wylie and Patterson.

In 1828 the churches of Wolf Run and Unity united in calling Rev. A. Leonard as stated supply, and he was succeeded in 1831 by Rev. W. D. Smith, in 1834 by Rev. Samuel Moody, and in 1835 by the unfortunate Rev. John Knox. Several young men licensed by the Presbytery of Washington supplied for limited periods. Rev. James Fleming preached for a time in 1839, and afterwards occasional supplies until 1842 when the congregations of Unity and Wolf Run settled and installed Rev. John Whittim, who was succeeded in 1844 by Rev. Alexander McCarrell. Upon the establishment of a Presbyterian Church at Waynesburg, the two churches united in calling pastors who served half time at each place, Messrs. McCarrell, Rosborough, Calhoun and Miller in succession having charge of these flocks. In 1854 Rev. Samuel Jeffrey became pastor and served faithfully till his death in 1859. The Rev. J. A. Ewing, Rev. William Jeffrey, Rev. William Hanna and Rev. William S. Vancleve served in succession from 1860 to 1867. At this time the church at Waynesburg engaged the entire time of a pastor and Unity was without a stated supply. The Rev. Samuel Graham became pastor in December, 1869, conducting a select school at the same time at Jacksonville. In 1872 Rev. J. B. Stevenson supplied it until 1875. Rev. Robert P. Farrar in the following year served Unity in connection with the church of Cameron. He was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel Graham, who in addition to the pastoral work has a select school at Graysville, and is still officiating (1888).

For many years the congregation worshipped in a log schoolhouse which stood below the old grave yard. A frame structure 45x50 was erected at a cost of $700. Francis Braddock, senior, donated the ground and contributed liberally to the building fund. In 1880, after forty years of service, this house was destroyed by lire, and a new edifice was erected at Graysville to take its place. It is 34x54 feet and 17 feet to ceiling and was built at a cost of $2,250. It was dedicated on the 20th of June, 1880, the Rev. Joseph S. Braddock preaching the dedicatory sermon. The Sabbath school connected with this church was established in the days of the old log school house, and Francis Braddock, senior, was the first Superintendant. It has done efficient work ever since.

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The church has been the nursery whence has gone forth a number of able heralds of the cross. Of the family of Francis Braddock, senior, three - Francis, Cyrus and Joseph, became ministers, and of the sons of Moses Dinsmore, six - Robert S., Francis B., Thomas H., John, Moses and William, studied for the ministry. The Session having been reduced' in 1837 to one member, the congregation elected four additional members, A. C. Rickey, Francis Braddock, Jr., Obadiah Vancleve and Thomas Dinsmore. By removals and death the Session had again become weakened, Francis Braddock, senior, after a long and devoted life having been called home, and in 1856 the following were elected: William Loughridge, David Braddock, John Carter and John Reed. Thomas Dinsmore, at the age of eighty six, William Longhridge, at the age of ninety five, and Abraham C. Rickey, at the age of seventy seven, fathers in Israel, were removed by death. On the 7th of July, J. H. Braddock, Hamilton Teagarden and Daniel Clutter were chosen, and subsequently Thomas Henderson. The church has enjoyed many seasons of refreshing from the Lord.

In the early days Robert Carl, his wifc and two small children, and his two brothers, John and Hamilton, dwelt in a cabin on a branch of Wheeling Creek not far from Beulah Baptist Church. One night, whilst Robert was away from home an alarm of Indians came and the inmates prepared to flee to Lindley's Fort. At dawn the two brothers went out to gather dry sticks with which to cook their breakfast when they were both shot dead by Indians lying in wait. The mother with a two year old child in her arms and leading the other four years old by the hand, escaped from the house into a dense field of corn and succeeded in eluding the wily savages. In attempting to enter the cabin the Indians were met by a furious bitch which had a litter of pups under the bed and so much time elapsed before she could be put out of the way that the mother with her precious charge escaped. The murdered brothers were scalped, the cabin pillaged even to the destruction of the feather beds. The mother made her way to Lindley's Fort some ten miles away, where not many days after she gave birth to another child.

"There is another tradition," says Evans, " that on Crab Apple Run there lived in the troublous days, on lands now owned by David G. Braddock, a family by the name of Hume. This family consisted of father, mother and five or six children. The murderous savages came one day, and without a moment's warning massacred in cold blood the entire family, a deed of horror that could not be surpassed. In this same general neighborhood at various times Indians slaughtered a family by the name of McIntyre, one by the name of Beeham, one by the name of Link, another by the name of McIntosh, a Mrs. Nancy Ross, and tomahawked and scalped two Beekman boys, and committed many other depredations, the traditions of which have become so dim by the erasure of time that I have been unable to elicit sufficient particulars to justify an attempt at relating them."

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