Franklin County, Pennsylvania

General Information about the pages on this web site:

This web site contains eleven pages about the history and genealogy of the Oliver Anderson, Archibald McCullough, and William McCune Families from Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Oliver Anderson and William McCune Families are from an area known as the "Corner" located in Montgomery Township five miles southwest of Mercersburg, Pa. Archibald McCullough family is from the area known as the "Little Cove" in Warren Township near the village of Sylvan. Some members in the Archibald McCullough family spell their name as McCulloh.

Other prominent families on this web site are Clark, Dick, Folk, Phelps, & Humphreys which are all connected to the Oliver Anderson family and from Franklin County area.

Information about the Slate Hill Graveyard where Oliver Anderson and David Humphrey, Sr. are buried is included on this web site.

Information on this web site was collected from many sources and also includes much of the information from a book written by Mrs. Elizabeth Brubaker Wolff who was the compiler and author of the book titled "Early History and Genealogy of the Anderson-McCullough-McCune Families and Related Lines of Franklin County, Pa". Other prominent families in her book are Clark, Dick, Folk, Phelps, & Humphrey which are all connected to the Oliver Anderson family. The Wolff book includes data that was compiled up to the late 1950's and was distributed in 1963. Elizabeth also wrote a sketch named "Looking Backward" of the time she lived as a young person in the area known as the "Corner" located 5 miles southwest of Mercersburg, Montgomery Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. It describes her memories and events of places and people living there in the late 1800's. Many of the ancestors in this genealogy once lived in this area of Pennsylvania. The sketch is also included on this web site.

The four family links below are the basic families to access their separate pages. Most pages also contain additional links to the other pages and to other sites with related family documents, pictures, and genealogy information. Information is sometimes presented as photographs and pdf files usually at bottom of pages.

WARNING : The material on these web pages may be freely used for personal research, knowledge, and enjoyment. The material on these web pages may NOT be sold or used for profit. The material on these web pages also may NOT be copied and/or added to any internet platforms or media without prior approval.

Related Lines on this Web Site:

Anderson Family Oliver Anderson (1742 - 1810)

McCullough/McCulloh Family Archibald McCullough

McCune Family William McCune (Abt 1712 - 1782)

Humphrey Family David Humphrey, Sr (1720 - 1795)

The United Presbyterian Church is the successor of two religious branches, the Seceders and the Associate Reformed.

Rev. R. G. Ferguson, one time minister of this church, in "Old Mercersburg " explains the reason for secession. "The origin of the Seceder Church was a secession from the National Church of Scotland in 1773, where the rights of the people were trampled upon by titled patrons and the doctrine of grace was set aside by church courts under rationalistic leadership. The name that they took at the outset was the Associate Presbytery."

The Seceder Church, to which members of the Andersons belonged was located on the left of the road leading to Greencastle. A log meeting house was erected about the year 1772 and was also used for school purposes. James Buchanan, former President of the United Stated, was said to have been a pupil there. A brick church took its place in 1828, which was later removed to Mercersburg where it became a dwelling. The charter of this church is said to be in Carlisle, Pa. Courthouse. The graveyard was located not far from the church and for upward of 100 years burials had been made in the plot. Today there are but few gravestones with inscriptions but there are many native stones scattered about. A number of years ago a marker was placed here for two Revolutionary soldiers, Oliver Anderson and David Humphrey, his father-in-law. Chester Anderson, of Upton; Mrs. Roy Stouffer, Williamson; Mrs. D. Singer Geiser and Mrs. Charles E. Wolff, both of Waynesboro, Pa., were responsible for the erection of the marker. Today, the burial plot is overgrown with brush and trees and only in winter when trees are denuded of foliage can one catch a glimpse of markers from the roadside.

The Rev. C. Y. Love of the West Conococheague congregation of the "Big Spring Presbytery" gives the following description of the Slate Hill Church:

"The West Conococheague Church was located about a mile-and-a-half from Mercersburg on the road leading to Greencastle. It stood upon a hill, and was generally known as Slate Hill Church. It was a log building and probable erected in 1782. The deed for the land upon which it stood was dated September 10th, 1777, in which William McCune conveyed to the trustees of the Associate Congregation one acre of land, with the privilege of a neighboring spring for the sum of five shillings. The land is described as that upon which the church was already built. The Rev. John Rodgers was presented with a call from the churches of Conococheague and Big Spring at a meeting of Presbytery held at Oxford, November 12th, 1771. Mr. Rodgers' pastorate did not take place until his installation in the summer of 1772, because of a lack of church buildings. The Conococheague part of Mr. Rodgers' pastorate was composed of two organizations - one on the East and the other on the West Conococheague, as all the settlements were near streams of water. It seems that Mr. Rodgers served this congregation until 1781. In 1783 Matthew Lind was installed pastor of the congregation along with the congregation at Greencastle, Chambersburg and Great Cove. This pastorate continued until 1798. Rev. John Young was the next pastor, serving from 1799 till 1808. He was succeeded by Rev. John Lind (son of Matthew Lind) whose ministry extended from 1808 until 1817. In 1786 the town of Mercersburg was laid out and soon became a center of population. The Presbyterian Church, which was located about one-and-a-half miles from the town, saw the advantages of the position and moved into the growing town. Inasmuch as the two churches were so nearly alike in doctrine, government and religious forms of worship, many could see no reason why the one should be preferred to other, and for convenience sake fell in with the village church. The West Conococheague Church began to decline, and after Mr. Lind's resignation in 1817, the congregation could get but little supply of preaching from the Presbytery. They had no prospect of ever having another pastor and were unable to secure even a supply except for an occasional Sabbath. They preserved their organization until the disastrous union of 1822 broke up the Presbytery. The presumption is that the congregation never disbanded, but just melted away and ceased to exist. Some joined the Presbyterian Church, some united with the Associate Church that was struggling into existence in Mercersburg, some moved away and some remained just as they were. The old meeting house on Slate Hill remained unoccupied for years, and was finally sold and removed to another place where it served as a dwelling house."

From "Old Mercersburg" we find the following:

"Lots 131 and 132 were the property of the Seceder Church. The church stood on the lot now owned by Mrs. Bristor. It was under this church that the rifles belonging to the town were concealed during the Confederate raids. Miss Sallie McCracken lived in the sexton's cottage now owned by Atcheson Divilbiss. The graveyard belonging to this congregation was on the rear of these two lots. The bodies have been removed to other burial grounds. The stone church which this congregation erected stood on the "point" now occupied by the residence of William Smith".

A record of the early membership of this church is in possession of the John Anderson family of Williamson, Pa., and is as follows:

"A list of the subscribers for the Labour of the Rev. Matthew Lind in the West Conococheague Congregation James Ramsey, David Humphrey, Samuel McCune, James Miller, Oliver Anderson, John Sterrat, James Stuart, Adam Rush, Robert Rodgers, Thomas McClelland, Ann Anderson, James and Andrew Read, Edward Mannon, John Bruce, William Dickey, David Reed, William Davidson, John Moore, Joseph Boggle, Daniel McCurdy, James Clark, John Martin, James Dodd, James McMaster, Thomas Rodgers, Samuel Reed, Thomas H. Sloan, Thomas Dunlap, Robert Miller, Thomas Shannon, James Bogle. Adam Lowry and James Clark.

In addition to the above list Mrs. Virginia Fendrick of Mercersburg, in her publication "Revolutionary Soldiers of Franklin County", gives the following "A receipt by James Ramsey, February 22, 1794, shows the names of Sarrah Davis and Walter Maxawell as paid 'steppens for Mr. Lind".

The remains of the Slate Hill graveyard is located in Montgomery Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The gravel lane to the cemetery is several miles east of Mercersburg, on the east side of Pennsylvania Route 16. See Slate Hill Cemetery for additional information.