In 1819 a new shingle roof was put on the
wall, with Matthew Humes as contractor. By
the middle of the century, as it was impossible
to dig another grave, the old south wall was
taken down in 1852 ; the graveyard was enlarged
by ninety feet and laid out in lots and a new
wooden top put on the entire wall. This re-
mained intact until 1882, when another wooden
roof was added to the wall, the last to be built,
for the trustees, grown very modern, in 1908 gave
the old wall a new cement headdress and pointed
the stones black, so that the historic old grave-
yard took on a most spruced-up air. At this
time the grounds were extended to the road on
the south end. The picturesque red cap on white
stones can still be seen on the eastern wall, to
show how our ancestors made fences.
36
The last important change in the wall was the
erection in 1906 by the Harrisburg Chapter of
the Daughters of the American Revolution, of
graceful, wrought-iron gates and bronze tablet,
a memorial to the men of Paxton who fought for
their country in the Indian, Colonial and Revo-
lutionary wars. These gates were dedicated with
impressive ceremonies on October 6, 1906, amid
many descendants of the brave soldiers, and of
their fellow churchmen whose homes and church
and lives had been saved by soldierly daring and
patriotism.
Within those gates rest men famous in the
annals of State and Nation. In the northern end
we find buried in one grave Parson Elder, his
daughter Grizzel, and the two Marys who were
his loving helpmates in fifty-two years' service
at Paxton. Near by are his warm friends, Wil-
liam Maclay, first United States Senator from
Pennsylvania, and John Harris, the founder of
Harrisburg, and son of the John Harris who lies
buried by the river bank in Harrisburg.
Toward the center is the monument erected by
their descendants to Thomas Rutherford and his
wife Jean Murdah, whose charms led him from
Ireland to America in 1729, to become the pro-
genitor of long generations of loyal members of
old Paxton Church. This stone also commemo-
rates their soldier sons. Captain John Ruther-
ford and Lieutenant Samuel Rutherford, heroes
of the Revolutionary War.
Within this historic spot are to be found Alex-
ander Stewart and his wife, Mary Dinwiddle,
37
sister of the famous Governor of Virginia, and
the Fultons, close kin to the inventor of the
steamboat. Here, too, is the quaint, urn-shaped
monument of the Simpson family, among the
first whites to settle in Paxtang. General John
Kean, one of the first settlers of Harrisburg and
an early judge of Dauphin County lies buried
here, as also do the sons-in-law of Mr. Maclay,
Dr. John Hall and William Wallace, the latter
first president of the old Harrisburg Bank.
Page 12
Presented as published in 1913. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
In 1819 a new shingle roof was put on the wall, with Matthew Humes as contractor. By the middle of the century, as it was impossible to dig another grave, the old south wall was taken down in 1852 ; the graveyard was enlarged by ninety feet and laid out in lots and a new wooden top put on the entire wall. This remained intact until 1882, when another wooden roof was added to the wall, the last to be built, for the trustees, grown very modern, in 1908 gave the old wall a new cement headdress and pointed the stones black, so that the historic old graveyard took on a most spruced-up air. At this time the grounds were extended to the road on the south end. The picturesque red cap on white stones can still be seen on the eastern wall, to show how our ancestors made fences.
The last important change in the wall was the erection in 1906 by the Harrisburg Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, of graceful, wrought-iron gates and bronze tablet, a memorial to the men of Paxton who fought for their country in the Indian, Colonial and Revolutionary wars. These gates were dedicated with impressive ceremonies on October 6, 1906, amid many descendants of the brave soldiers, and of their fellow churchmen whose homes and church and lives had been saved by soldierly daring and patriotism.
Within those gates rest men famous in the annals of State and Nation. In the northern end we find buried in one grave Parson Elder, his daughter Grizzel, and the two Marys who were his loving helpmates in fifty-two years' service at Paxton. Near by are his warm friends, William Maclay, first United States Senator from Pennsylvania, and John Harris, the founder of Harrisburg, and son of the John Harris who lies buried by the river bank in Harrisburg.
Toward the center is the monument erected by their descendants to Thomas Rutherford and his wife Jean Murdah, whose charms led him from Ireland to America in 1729, to become the progenitor of long generations of loyal members of old Paxton Church. This stone also commemorates their soldier sons. Captain John Rutherford and Lieutenant Samuel Rutherford, heroes of the Revolutionary War.
Within this historic spot are to be found Alexander Stewart and his wife, Mary Dinwiddle,
sister of the famous Governor of Virginia, and the Fultons, close kin to the inventor of the steamboat. Here, too, is the quaint, urn-shaped monument of the Simpson family, among the first whites to settle in Paxtang. General John Kean, one of the first settlers of Harrisburg and an early judge of Dauphin County lies buried here, as also do the sons-in-law of Mr. Maclay, Dr. John Hall and William Wallace, the latter first president of the old Harrisburg Bank.