Originally the church owned a tract of about
twenty acres of land, whose length was nearly
three times its breadth. This property was held
until about 1850, when all but the present tract
of eight acres was sold. When Paxtang village
was laid out in streets, a trade was made with
the company developing the land, to straighten
up our line and remove certain angles on the
south, west and north side. This leaves a square
grove, with the church about the centre and the
manse in the southeast corner, connecting with
the old grave yard, which lies midway between
them, by a long wooden footbridge over a deep
depression in the intervening land. New trees
were planted in the grove in 1897 to replace the
old ones, which were beginning to die, though the
giant oaks, which have survived for centuries
to be the pride of present-day Paxton, still flour-
ish healthily. A hedge of Tartarian honeysuckle
was planted round the church property in 1899
and 1900 and has grown well, even through the
rigorous winter of 1911.
27
The old log church, abandoned in 1740, was
used by the pastor as a study for years. Later,
it was either torn down or removed to nearly
the site of the present chapel, as we read of a
"retiring house" being built toward the close of
Parson Elder's pastorate. This was the house
occupied by the school from the time of the Revo-
lution down to 1839, and not the original log
church building, as has often been claimed.
28
Ill
MEMOIR OF PARSON ELDER
By His Son, Thomas Elder
We are fortunate to publish for the first time a curious
and interesting sketch of Parson Elder, belonging to Mr.
S. Bethel Boude, one of the three living great-grandchil-
dren of Rev. John Elder, and written for his mother by
her father, then an old man of eighty. This little paper,
yellowed with age, is doubtless the most authentic life of a
great man about whom many conflicting stories have been
published; even the country of his birth has been dis-
puted, as Sprague says he was bom in County Antrim,
and Dr. Egle in Edinburgh. It is printed just as written
by the late Thomas Elder, a prominent lawyer of Harris-
burg.
1847
July loth
^ Facts furnished by Thomas Elder,
who is now over 80 years old.
Facts relating to the life of the
Rev^ John Elder dec*^, this day ob-
tained from a reliable source.
Rev^. John Elder was born in Scotland in the
year 1706. Received a Classical education at
Edinburg & graduated in Edinburg College. He
subsequently studied Divinity there & received
License to preach the Gospel. During this time
his father & family with many others fled from
the persecutions in Scotland to the North of Ire-
land, and his father took up his residence in the
County of Antrim, not far from Lough Neagh.
29
After the Son became a licensed Preacher, he
visited his father and family in Ireland. When
with them on this visit He saw what disgusted
Him with the Government. He would not brook
or endure the reckless and unfeeling treatment of
those in Power to the People, — Stewarts & their
understrappers were perfect Tyrants. He saw
the degradation his father & family were obliged
to submit to, therefore, determined on freedom,
concluded at once to migrate to North America
& shipped a few days afterwards for Phil^, where
he landed & came to Lancaster County.
Page 9
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
Originally the church owned a tract of about twenty acres of land, whose length was nearly three times its breadth. This property was held until about 1850, when all but the present tract of eight acres was sold. When Paxtang village was laid out in streets, a trade was made with the company developing the land, to straighten up our line and remove certain angles on the south, west and north side. This leaves a square grove, with the church about the centre and the manse in the southeast corner, connecting with the old grave yard, which lies midway between them, by a long wooden footbridge over a deep depression in the intervening land. New trees were planted in the grove in 1897 to replace the old ones, which were beginning to die, though the giant oaks, which have survived for centuries to be the pride of present-day Paxton, still flourish healthily. A hedge of Tartarian honeysuckle was planted round the church property in 1899 and 1900 and has grown well, even through the rigorous winter of 1911.
The old log church, abandoned in 1740, was used by the pastor as a study for years. Later, it was either torn down or removed to nearly the site of the present chapel, as we read of a "retiring house" being built toward the close of Parson Elder's pastorate. This was the house occupied by the school from the time of the Revolution down to 1839, and not the original log church building, as has often been claimed.
MEMOIR OF PARSON ELDER
By His Son, Thomas Elder
We are fortunate to publish for the first time a curious and interesting sketch of Parson Elder, belonging to Mr. S. Bethel Boude, one of the three living great-grandchildren of Rev. John Elder, and written for his mother by her father, then an old man of eighty. This little paper, yellowed with age, is doubtless the most authentic life of a great man about whom many conflicting stories have been published; even the country of his birth has been disputed, as Sprague says he was bom in County Antrim, and Dr. Egle in Edinburgh. It is printed just as written by the late Thomas Elder, a prominent lawyer of Harrisburg.
July loth
^ Facts furnished by Thomas Elder, who is now over 80 years old. Facts relating to the life of the Rev. John Elder deceased, this day obtained from a reliable source.
Rev^. John Elder was born in Scotland in the year 1706. Received a Classical education at Edinburg & graduated in Edinburg College. He subsequently studied Divinity there & received License to preach the Gospel. During this time his father & family with many others fled from the persecutions in Scotland to the North of Ireland, and his father took up his residence in the County of Antrim, not far from Lough Neagh.
After the Son became a licensed Preacher, he visited his father and family in Ireland. When with them on this visit He saw what disgusted Him with the Government. He would not brook or endure the reckless and unfeeling treatment of those in Power to the People, — Stewarts & their understrappers were perfect Tyrants. He saw the degradation his father & family were obliged to submit to, therefore, determined on freedom, concluded at once to migrate to North America & shipped a few days afterwards for Philadelphia, where he landed & came to Lancaster County.