COLUMBIA ANT) MONTOUR COUNTIES I'o r sonic lime this building was used by the Iwo congregations, Rev. Jam es DcPui be ing the rector o i the Episcopal congregation and Ke%*. Jerem iah Shiiidel the Lutheran pas tor. 1 l i e lot u(K)n which the church w as built W'as donated by G m . Daniel Montgomery, and is the site the present massive Christ’s Church. The original building is said to have cost some $4,000.
- rhe union scheme did not last long. There
w ere some differences between the two congre gations* the Episcopalians claiming the exclu sive use of the building. The Lutherans finally withdrew’ and worshipped in the courthouse until (hey built their first church. From this time (probably about 1835 or 1836) the build in g was in the exclusive possession of the Kpiscopaiians. Kev. Janies DePui w as rector froni 1829 to (83^. in the latter year Bishop Onderdonk vssitc<l this parish and confirmed four per sons. The church was then without a rector fo r some months. Kev. Benjamin Hutchins* rector at Bloomsburg. officiating irregularly. In November, 1833. Bishop Onderdonk or<lainc<l to the ministry, in this church. Rev. Isaac Smith. Mr. Smith began his work as rector of the parish Feb. 23, 1834. but retiiaim*<l only eight months. In January. 1834* the first Sunday school was o rg an iz^ . with s ix teachers and forty-nine scholars. In 1836 the church was incorporated* the incorporators being Peter Baldy, (Jeorge A . Prick, Daniel Pursel, Jr .. Jonathan Pursel. E . F . Greenough, D avid Petrikin, David Phillips, LcG rand Ban cro ft. John Clavton. On Feb. 1, Rev. George C Drake be cam e rector of this parish, in connection with nioomslnifg, Sugarloaf and Jerscytow n, he iigreeing to preach at Danville on alternate Sundays in the afternoon. M r. Drake found on ly six resident communicants: Miss Agnes Petrikin, Peter Baldy, Davtd Phillips and wnfc, M iss Rebecca Reynolds and Ephraim Scott. In .August, 1837, Rev. A lfred I^ouderback, a deacon, took charge o f this parish in conn^tton with Sunbury. and served the congrega tion at Danville until 1841. “ Upon entering h is ministry he found no font, no surplice, nor g o w n : no organ, nor leader in music, and no lights.” T he congr<gation was very small, but the rector w as faithful, and endeavored to hold his little charge true to thcir faith. The town was growing and the church b ^ a n to grow also, and when M r. Louderback resigned ill 1841 he “ left the parish in a far better con
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dition (bail he took it, with the list o f comiiiunicants more than doubled.” In 1842. for six months. Rev. Robert M. Mitcheson >va.s the rector o f this church and reported ten families, one bapti sm. sixteen comnninicaiUs and forty-five members of the Sunday school, with an increasing congrega tion. Rev. .Milton C IJghiner, deacon, his ministrations in ihe parish Oct. 1, 1842. The church from this time seemed to start afresh in the Lord's work. A s the result o f seven months’ work that minister reported twentyeight liaptisms. fifty-seven continned, sixtysix communicants and eighty-ihree in the Sun day school. In M ay. 1844. the first lay deputies repre sented the parish in the Sixtieth convention. These were Peter Baldy. Sr.* E li Trego and Edward H. Baldy. During the vcar a bell wa.s placed in the tower, the g ift o f Peter Baldy, S r. A t this time a communion service W'as presented to the parish by the ladies of S t Jam es' Church, Philadelphia. In 1845 a new roof w as pul on the church and an organ placed in the gallery. T his was said to have been the first organ ever placed in a Danville church. Its cost was $675. In 1846 the interior of the church w as repaired and repainted, the cliancel altered, a new pul p it altar and lectern placed therein, the pews were reconstructed, and a new heating appara tus and lamps installed. In 1847 there were reported seventy-five communicants. In 1848 Mr. fjg h tn er resigned and was suc ceeded by Rev. Joseph I. Elsegood. The church in 1850 suffered considerable loss in membership by removals from the town. Mr. Elsegood resigned in August, 18 5 1. and was succeeded by Rev. Kolia O. Page on Dec.!st o f that year. In 1852 the rectory w as presented to the jKirish by Peter Baldy, S r.. who was so gen erous in his gifts and so timely in their selec tion. Mr. Baldy the same year presented the parish the ground for a cemetery'. In 1853 considerable repairs were again made, and other tmprovcmcnts added, including a new fence. In February, 1855, Rev. Edwin X . Lightner Inxame the rector of the parish. T his was the lieginning o f a long and blessed ministry. He served until 1870. for fifteen years, a period most trying and eventful. Four years o f that lime w*crc years o f war drums and bat tle flag s: fathers and sons and brothers were enlisted from the homes and churches o f Dan
