Guide to the Records of the Beulah Presbyterian Church (Churchill, Pa.)1811-1984 (bulk 1811-1834 and 1983-1984)
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Records of the Beulah Presbyterian Church (Churchill, Pa.)
- Creator
- Beulah Presbyterian Church (Churchill, Pa.)
- Collection Number
- MSS#83
- Extent
- .5 cubic feet (1 box)
- Date
- 1811-1984
- Date
- 1811-1834
- Date
- 1983-1984
- Abstract
- The Beulah Presbyterian Church was founded in 1784, under the name of Bullock Pens Church. Its early subscribers included numerous Revolutionary War veterans and Dunning McNair, the founder of Wilkinsburg, Pa. These records include administrative and cemetery records, historical accounts, newsletters, church programs, publications, and other material, mostly dating from the church's early years and from its bicentennial in 1984.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project, a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History of the Beulah Presbyterian Church (1784-)
One of the oldest churches in the region, the Beulah Presbyterian Church was founded in 1784 by a group of Scots-Irish settlers in Churchill, Pennsylvania (Allegheny County), under the name of Bullock Pens Church. Among its early subscribers was Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania founder, Dunning McNair. The original subscribers of the church included numerous Revolutionary War veterans and other early settlers who originally met in log cabins for Bible reading and prayer. In 1785, the church was renamed as the Pitt Township Church. From 1788 until 1804, nineteen different itinerant preachers served the church and all four attempts to offer a permanent position to a preacher were not accepted. In 1803, Reverend James Graham (1775-c1845) became the head of the congregation and held that position from 1804 until 1845. Graham was an itinerant preacher for the Redstone Presbytery and preached in Tyrone, Laurel Hill and Uniontown, Pennsylvania. An active participant in the growth of the church, Graham also is credited with changing the church's name to the Beulah Presbyterian Church. Graham expanded the role of the church in the community and guaranteed the church's role in local education and culture by establishing the Beulah Librarian Society and other literary clubs. Members of the church have had a great impact on the formation of the area surrounding it, as many roads near the church bear the names of former members and many surrounding churches owe their formation to Beulah. The Old Beulah Church was constructed in 1837. The church was later redesigned in 1957 and a Christian education building was added in 1962. Beulah has been very involved in missionary work and in the community, and has remained so to the present.
Scope and Content Notes
These records include administrative and cemetery records, historical accounts, newsletters, church programs, publications, and other material, mostly dating from the church's early years and its bicentennial in 1984. Administrative records include original documents, photocopies of documents and transcripts of records kept by Reverend John M. Hastings, Reverend James Graham and the Beulah Librarian Society (kept in the Pastor's Notebook) in the nineteenth century, with a break in the material occurring between 1830 and 1846. These records include information on marriages, admissions, dismissals, early subscribers to the church, including Dunning McNair, and a photocopy of an 1836 petition to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for incorporation. Cemetery records were updated several times and provide burial information through the 1930s. Cemetery records also include many Revolutionary and Civil War veterans' graves. Historical material includes recollections by Mrs. Matilda Graham Carothers in 1884, James Waldo Fawcett in 1967 and a longer and more researched account by William S. Miller in 1884. Newsletters and programs only date from around the time of the bicentennial, 1983-1984. The newsletter, "Beulah Life," was published monthly and includes reports and notices of current events. The weekly programs include a few inserts on early members of the church and on volunteer programs. Publications are very scanty; the most comprehensive material is a profile of missionary work with which Beulah was involved. Miscellaneous material, primarily from 1983-1984, mostly comprises a few historical pieces, programs for plays, a floor plan, a few letters, and descriptions of missionary opportunities.
Arrangement
The Beulah Presbyterian Church Records are housed in one archival box and are arranged alphabetically with miscellaneous material in the rear.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials came in multiple accessions and were combined into one body of records in 1994.
Acc# 1925x -- Gift of Martha Graham, (Records. Admissions and Marriage Book).
Acc# 1934x -- Gift of Emma Dare Poole, (Publication. One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of Organization of the Church).
Acc# 1985.98 -- Gift of Helen Marquard, (Records. Transcript of Rev. James Graham's Notebook).
Preferred Citation
Records of the Beulah Presbyterian Church (Churchill, Pa.), 1811-1834 (bulk 1811-1834 and 1983-1984), MSS #83, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Kara Lewis on January 18, 1994.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Martha L. Berg on January 25, 2000.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.
Subjects
- Carothers, Matilda Graham.
- Fawcett, James Waldo, -- b. 1893
- Graham, James, -- 1775-1845.
- Hastings, John.
- McNair, Dunning, -- 1762-1825.
- Miller, William S.
- Churchill (Pa.) -- Religion.
- Allegheny County (Pa.) -- Religion.
- Allegheny County (Pa.) -- Cemeteries.
- Churchill (Pa.) -- Cemeteries.
- Cemeteries -- Pennsylvania -- Churchill.
- Presbyterian church buildings -- Pennsylvania -- Churchill.
- Libraries -- Pennsylvania -- Churchill.
- Presbyterian church -- Pennsylvania -- Churchill.
- Presbyterians -- Pennsylvania -- Churchill.
- Cemeteries -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County.
- Churches, Presbyterian -- Pennsylvania -- Churchill.
- Religion -- Pennsylvania -- Churchill.