The Reformed
So far, these posts have been running along in a somewhat
consecutive manner, earlier to later. In the next series of posts, we will be
zeroing in on specific circumstances that have histories all their own:
faith/religion, war, coal mining, etc. This will require us to jump backwards a
tad on the timeline in order to move forward again as we dip into each of these
“special” circumstances. With this post we begin to address the first of these
“circumstances”: Faith; and we start with The
Reformed.
Our progenitor, Philip, was most likely a follower of the
German
Reformed movement. That is to say, he was a Calvinist. As
Christianity developed through the 14th and 15th
Centuries, many individuals began to question certain beliefs and doctrines of
the Catholic theology. Eventually, leaders, such as John Calvin, and their
followers broke with the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th Century.
Followers of Calvin and like-believing leaders called themselves “Reformed”
Christians. It was the followers of Martin Luther, who also famously broke with
the Roman Catholic Church, who gave the Reformed Christians the name “Calvinists”,
since John Calvin was the most famous of their leaders. It was their way of
differentiating themselves, the Lutherans, from the Reformed.[1],[2]
 |
| Martin Luther as depicted in Mary Drum’s Bible given to her in 1895 by her husband, Nathan A. Drum. The bible didn’t include John Calvin among its biographies |
Clearly there were differences between Lutheran and
Reformed teachings. However, there were enough similarities that often, once in
the new world, strong relationships formed between the Lutheran and Reformed
congregations, many often forming “union” churches.[3]
It was most likely Philip’s and Jacob’s connections to
the German Reformed community in Pennsylvania that ultimately drew George to
the Drums valley. In the Drums Valley he found a strong community of
like-believers and like-speakers who took him and his family in as one of their
own. He was not in the valley long before he became a leader of the German
Reformed community that he found there.
As discussed in an earlier post, (Snarls)
he most likely was in in the valley by 1797, therefore, in attendance when, on
January 12, 1800, the Lutheran and Reformed congregations met to discuss their
respective futures. During this meeting, it was decided these two congregations
would collectively build a meeting house that would be used for both worship
and school. Prior to this, the congregations were holding their services in
private homes.[4]
 |
| This image is taken from a 180th Anniversary celebration booklet published by the St. Johns U.C.C. in 1972. The caption reads: “The German log-schoolhouse of St. Johns, PA. in 1808. Artistic sketch by Kathy Miller.” |
The meeting house they built was made of logs and sat
looking over the Nescopeck River on land sold to the congregations by Stephen
Balliet. The site along the Nescopeck was in a village that was at first called
Hughesville, after George Hughes, a prominent citizen and owner of the grist
mill[5].
Later the name was changed to St. Johns, named for the congregations of the
union church found there, when the establishment of the Post Office exposed the
existence elsewhere of a previously established Hughesville Post office. That
other Hughesville is now best
known as the place where the Lycoming County Fair is held!
According to the St. John’s United Church
of Christ (U.C.C), George Drum was a member of the church
council and consistory when the building was erected in 1808[6].
The two congregations then asked the Reformed Pastor, Rev. Frederick W. Van der
Sloat, to write a constitution and by-laws for them. Van der Sloat’s document
in part required the building to only be used for school and worship; no
services were to be held after dark; and all services were to be conducted in
German. Van der Sloat’s constitution was presented and accepted in 1809.
Nineteen men signed the document; among them were John Balliet, Philip
Woodring, Michael Beishline, and George Drum.[7],
[8]
The church and school building served the congregations
well for 20 years. Finally outgrown by 1828, Mr. S. Bennet bought it and moved
it to his farm.
The “union” congregation replaced it with a new, larger
log building which they built on a lot across the road from the original
location. This building was used until 1868 when it, too, was out-grown by the
faithful. An addition was built and dedicated in 1873 and the entire structure
was remodeled in 1894, this time adding a new organ that cost $800
(approximately $23,000 in present day dollars[9])!
It is uncertain when this
photo was taken however, it is prior to 1911. The photo was taken by Edwin
Finstermacher.
However, all was lost in 1911 when the furnace
overheated, a fire erupted, and the structure was burned to the ground.[10]
The loss of this building forced the two congregations to
examine themselves and their often-difficult relationship with each other. They
decided the time had come to separate. Thus, the fourth church was built, or
rather, two churches were built to replace the Union Church now in ashes. The
Lutheran’s built their new structure on the location of the previous building
and the Reformed congregation built their new structure on newly acquired land
adjacent to the former location; the two churches being, as one description put
it, “less than a stone’s throw away” from each other.
Ella Drum’s uncle, Jacob Santee, recorded a few notes
concerning this incident on the cover page of his 1902 Webster’s Dictionary:
“The St. Johns
Union Church was destroyed by fire the 4th day of March 1911.
The
last funeral service held in said church was that of Simon Rarich, Feb 11,
1911.
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mar 2 – 1913 –
First service held in the new Reformed church St. Johns PA.”
The information in the top right corner added by rubber
stamp reads:
After five days return to:
JACOB SANTEE
Drums, PA.
The St. Johns Lutheran and UCC churches today.
The St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, on the left, was dedicated on February 9, 1913[11] and the St. John’s German Reformed Church, on the right, was dedicated May 12, 1913.[12] In 1962 the name was changed to the St. John's United Church of Christ.
Sorry about the
light pole. I tried to move it but it was stuck pretty hard into the ground.
So, the church in St. Johns that owes some of its
existence to early leadership received from George Drum has survived more than
225 years, active yet today. As of this writing, I believe there is only one
person who is a direct descendant of George, myself, that is still a member.
That was not true of all of George’s direct descendants over the years, of
course. Naturally, many left the valley to follow careers and lives elsewhere,
some living as far away as California, perhaps beyond. However, even of those
who remained in the Valley, not all remained members of George’s church.
In our next post we will tour the St. Johns U.C.C. Church and in a following post, look at some of the Reformed/UCC Church activities and events that impacted Drum
lives and Drum lives that impacted the St. Johns Reformed/UCC Church! Then in a
post after that, we will look at Drums as Methodists. But until then, return on February 25, 2019 for your personal tour of St. John's U.C.C., St. Johns, PA.
[2]
Citation for Mary Drum’s Bible:
Williams, Prof. S. W., The Pronouncing Edition of
the Holy Bible Containing the Authorized and Revised Versions of the Old and
New Testaments, arranged in Parallel Columns, Giving the Correct Pronunciation
of Every Proper Name Contained in the Bible. (Phila.: A.J. Holman and Co.,
LTD, 1895)
[4] 200th
Anniversary: 1792-1992 (St. Johns, PA: St. Johns United Church of Christ,
1992)
[5] Bradsby,
H.C., ed, History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: S.B. Nelson
& Co., 1893). Chapter XXI (continued): Butler Township. http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/luzerne/1893hist/
accessed 6/7/2016
[6] 200th
Anniversary: 1792-1992
[7]
Munsell on Butler Township, 1880, History of Freeland, PA, https://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/ct0u/munsell_butler.html
accessed 8/11/2016
[10] 200th
Anniversary: 1792-1992
[11] Two
Hundred Years of Progress: Butler Township, 1784-1984 (Drums, PA: The Drums
Lions Club, 1984) p 23.
[12] 200th
Anniversary: 1792-1992
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