Dr. De Witt received the degree of A. M. in course, from Union College, Schenectady, New York; and, in 1838, from the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, the title of Doctor of Divinity.

Rev. Robert Kennedy.

The above-named minister was pastor of East and Lower West Conococheague congregations, now Greencastle and Welsh Run churches, for sixteen years, and in later years supplied Welsh Run and other neighboring congregations to near the close of his life. By reason of the thoughtful liberality and grateful appreciation of a descendant of his, Mr. Elias D. Kennedy, of Philadelphia, the Robert Kennedy Memorial church was erected as a tribute to his memory.

Robert Kennedy was born in Lancaster county, Pa., July 4, 1778. His grandfather, William Kennedy, and his brother, Robert, came to this country from the north of Ireland in 1730 and settled in Bucks county, Pa. Robert's son, William, became a major in the Revolutionary war and was killed early in the war. Some of the survivors of that branch of the family continued to reside in Philadelphia up to 1836.

William Kennedy, the grandfather of him who is the subject of this sketch, had four sons, Thomas, James, Robert and John, and three daughters. James, the second son, was married, in 1761, to Miss Jane Maxwell, sister of General Maxwell of the Revolutionary war. They had twelve children of whom the Rev. Robert was the ninth. Of his early youth little is known, further than that he grew up in the Pequea Valley, near what is known as the Gap, where survivors of the family have continued to live unto the present time, and received his classical preparation for college under the direction of a Mr. Grier, and that he was a youth of good habits and of much promise. He entered Dickinson College and graduated from that institution, September 20, 1797, with honor, and as the Rev. Dr. Amos McGinley, who graduated the year following, said, "the best scholar in his class."

Mr. Kennedy pursued his theological studies under the direction of the Rev. Nathaniel Sample. then pastor of the Pres

byterian churches of Lancaster and Middle Octorara, and August 20, 1799, was licensed at Upper Octorara church by the Presbytery of New Castle to preach the gospel. At the request of the church where he was licensed, he was appointed by the Presbytery to supply the same for half of the time for the next six months. After this he was permitted, for some time, to labor out of the bounds of the Presbytery, and did so in visiting and supplying vacant churches in the Presbytery of Carlisle.

On September 30, 1800, he was dismissed as a licentiate from the Presbytery of New Castle, to the Presbytery of Carlisle, and was received by the latter October 7, 1801, and continued to visit and supply the vacant churches. On September 9, 1802, a call was made out for him from the congregations of East and Lower West Conococheague, to become their pastor. This call was accepted and on August 13, 1803, was ordained and installed pastor of these churches. In this relation he continued with increasing usefulness and acceptance until April 9, 1816, when, at his request, the pastoral relation was dissolved.

The disaffection which led to this request was traceable to two incidents, such as have often led to similar results. A young man had died in the congregation who had attained to some distinction as a soldier and an officer in the war of 1812. An obituary notice had been published in the papers, which Mr. Kennedy, while he had a due regard for the standing and achievements of the young soldier, considered too fulsome and extravagant, and as not in good taste and ventured so to express himself in some private conversation. This conversation is said to have been misunderstood or, at least, so represented to the family of the deceased, as to wound their feelings and greatly to offend them. Then, again, about the same time, some remarks of Mr. Kennedy, in a public discourse on a day of special observance, were interpreted as having a political bearing and hawked about by prejudiced politicians to his disadvantage. Mr. Kennedy being of an unduly sensitive nature and hearing of the unfriendly gossip proceeding from these two incidents, which was being repeated very generally in relation to him, without any consultation of friends, and as was

thought hastily, announced to his congregation at once,`near the close of the public services on the Sabbath, his purpose, to request of the Presbytery at its next meeting, a dissolution of the pastoral relation.

In the former case he may have spoken unadvisedly in the latter he was doubtless sinned against. If conscious of error or imprudence in relation to the one, a full explanation and a sincere apology, if the party offended were reasonable, would have probably set the matter right with them; or if not it would have with all sensible people. And having done what was right, then going forward in the line of duty, he could have lived the whole matter down. As has been well said, "no position worth holding can be long held without fighting a battle for it, and when that battle is fought and won then the man is master of the situation." Mr. Kennedy's usefulness, happiness and reputation in the ministry might have been greatly enhanced by pursuing this latter course. It is often a great injury.to a minister of talent, learning, piety and promise of usefulness, to be undermined or driven from a field of labor in this or in many other ways, by persons who have, without good or sufficient reasons, become hostile to him.

During the sixteen years of Mr. K.'s pastorate in the above churches, it is represented by the Rev. J. Wightman in his historical discourse at Greencastle, on May 9, 1869, "that the congregation seems to have been in a prosperous condition. The dangers of the frontier had been removed. The settlement was at rest and the population was increasing. And, as a consequence, the congregation, under the efficient ministry of Mr. Kennedy, was speedily so strengthened in numbers that to provide room for them, it became necessary to enlarge the church." In the same discourse he also refers to a classical school which, at that time, was conducted in the old "Study House" by a Mr. Boreland, and adds this school was tenderly cared for by Mr. Kennedy, who was a man of thorough scholarship, and used his influence through his whole life to have young men equip themselves well for any good work.

In May, 1816, Mr. Kennedy moved with his family to Cumberland, Maryland, where he had received an invitation to

preach to the church at that place, which was then small, and take charge of the academy. Academies abounded through all the early history of the church in all parts of the country. These academies, under the care of godly ministers or other pious men, were the centers of a most healthy training to the youth of the neighborhood, and the great and fruitful source of well-trained young men for the ministry. The breaking down of these or the failure of the church to endow and sustain them in sufficient number is one great cause of the recent and present alarming decrease as to a proportionate number of candidates for the gospel ministry.

On Mr. K.'s taking charge of the academy at Cumberland, he delivered an address on the subject of education before the trustees and others which made so favorable an impression that a copy of it was requested for publication. Mr. Kennedy felt very much the isolated character of his new position, the sparsenses of the population, and the want of intercourse with ministerial brethren and neighboring congregations.

In 1820 he was, however, greatly comforted and sustained by encouraging tokens of the Divine presence and favor in his ministry. In that year both his church and the town were vis ited by what he regarded as a gracious revival of religion, which resulted in the addition of a goodly number to the church who had made profession of their faith in Christ. This work was followed, however, the next year with an outbreak of worldliness and folly, which to him and to the true friends of the cause of Christ, was a matter of much regret and a scandal and detriment to the cause of religion. By a class of young men, theatrical and other amusements were introduced into the place, and articles in their favor written and published in the town papers. To these articles Mr. K. felt called upon to prepare and furnish counteracting articles, and so able and caustic were these replies, which were anonymous, that much chagrin was experienced at their exposures and ridicule, and the name of the author was demanded, accompanied by threats of violence. The name of the author was given with his consent and, although it was followed by much excitement, yet there was no attempt made to carry the threats uttered into exe