has been as follows: Revs. John Ruthrauff, Jacob Medtart, and Benjamin Kurtz, D. D., 1825-28; Samuel K. Hoshour, 1828-30; John Reck, 1831-33; John P. Cline, 1833-46; John J. Riemensnyder, 1846-51; Daniel H. Bittle, D. D., 1851-52; J. F. Probst, 1853-56; John Heck, 1857-61; W. F. Eyster, D. D., 1861-65; M. C. Horine, D. D., 1865-69; Samuel McHenry, 1870-72; X. J. Richardson, 1872-81; Victor Miller, 1881-. Prior to 1828 the congregation was part of the Hagerstown charge, which embraced a wide extent of territory. From 1828 to 1880 it was part of the Smithsburg charge; the Leitersburg charge was formed in 1880 and embraces two congregations, Leitersburg and Beard's.

The site of the church and the burial ground adjacent, comprising lots Nos. 44 and 45 of the town plot of Leitersburg, were conveyed to Frederick Ziegler, John Byer, Jacob Bell, Lewis Tritle, John Bowers, and Henry H. Snider, who composed the church council, by John Lahm, February 28, 1835, at the consideration of $100.00.

A charter for the incorporation of the church was adopted on the 12th of April, 1864. The first trustees were Jacob E. Bell, Jonas Bell, John G. Garver, George Bell, Jacob Hoover, and James P. Mayhugh.

It has been stated that the corner-stone of the church was laid on the 6th of August, 1826; the kind of building it was proposed to erect was thus described in the following advertisement, which appeared in the Hagerstown Torch-Light some months before: "Proposals will be received until April 22d at the house of Christopher Burkhart in Leitersburg for building a church forty-five by sixty feet, two stories high, with gallery on three sides, to be built with brick or stone and rough-cast and finished in a plain, substantial manner." The building was evidently completed according to these specifications. It possessed no architectural pretensions, but was certainly one of the most substantial and commodious places of worship in Washington County. There was originally neither bell nor belfry, but about the year 1850 a bell was procured and mounted on a platform in the rear of the church; here it remained until 1853, when a belfry was built. In 1884-85 the building was completely remodeled at a cost of $4,100. A new front and tower were built, the side galleries were

removed, the corresponding upper and lower windows were converted into one, the interior was refurnished, etc. The rededication occurred on the 1st of February, 1885, when an appropriate sermon was delivered by Rev. F. W. Conrad, D. D.

The parsonage is a two-story brick structure, situated on the main street of the village. It was erected in 1881 at a cost of $3,100, and is jointly owned by the two congregations composing the charge. The site was presented by Rev. Victor Miller.

The Sunday school connected with this church was for many years a union school. It was organized soon after the erection of the church and has been continued without interruption to the present time.

The Woman's Home and Foreign Missionary Society was organized on the 15th of June, 1887, with ten constituent members and the following officers: President, Mrs. Josephine Miller; vice-president, Athalinda Bell; corresponding secretary, Mary E. Miller; recording secretary, Ida M. Bell; treasurer, Kate E. Martin.

The Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor was organized on the 22d of December, 1892, with the following officers: President, Mayberry G. Freed; vice-president, D. J. D. Hicks; corresponding secretary, Emma S. Newcomer; recording secretary, Mary E. Miller; treasurer, Frank D. Bell.

ST. JAMES' REFORMED CHURCH.

Among the early settlers of Leitersburg District there were several families that adhered to the Reformed faith, the most numerous and prominent of which were the Lamberts, Hartles, Schrivers, and Lecrons, all of whom, as evidenced by the records of Zion Reformed Church at Hagerstown, worshiped there and received the ministrations of its pastor in the ordinances of baptism, confirmation, etc. Other Reformed families located in the District at a later date, among which were those of Felix Beck, George Ziegler, Stephen Martin, Christian Russell, and John Harbaugh. After the erection of Beard's church at its present location this was the place of worship for adherents of the Reformed faith in Leitersburg District until 1826, when the first church at Leitersburg was built.

About the year 1826 two Reformed churches were organized

from the former constituency of Beard's, viz., Christ's at Cavetown and St. James' at Leitersburg. This was effected chiefly through the efforts of the Rev. Henry Kroh, who was the first pastor of both churches. Unfortunately, Mr. Kroh has left no local record of his work; but from the archives of the Maryland Classis it has been learned that he became pastor on the 15th of September, 1826; and on the 11th of June, 1827, the following action was taken by Classis:

Resolved, That the congregations of Cavetown and Leitersburg, Md., of which the Rev. Mr. Kroh is pastor, be received into connection with the Maryland Classis.

From September 15, 1826, to June 10, 1827, Mr. Kroh baptized 71, confirmed 55, buried 24; he reported 158 communicants and two schools. From June, 1827, to June, 1828, 132 were baptized, 65 confirmed, 44 buried; the number of communicants was 226. These statistics include both churches, and probably cover the period of Mr. Kroh's ministry.

In 1829 Rev. J. C. Bucher became pastor and Jacobs congregation in Harbaugh's valley was a third congregation in the charge. He resigned in 1830 and a vacancy followed, probably due to the inability of the charge to support a pastor. In 1831 Leitersburg and Cavetown were attached to the Waynesboro charge, then under the ministry of Rev. G. W. Glessner, D. D., who was succeeded in 1840 by Rev. J. H. A. Bomberger, D. D. Rev. Theodore Appel, D. D., became pastor in 1845. Two years later the extensive Waynesboro charge was divided and the Cavetown charge was established, its constituent congregations being those of Leitersburg, Cavetown, Harbaugh's in Franklin County, Pa., and Wolfsville in Frederick County, Md. Dr. Appel was the first pastor of the new charge, and continued in this relation until 1850. He was succeeded by Rev. J. W. Santee, D. D., who preached his first sermon at Leitersburg on the 4th of May, 1851, and continued as pastor forty-one years and six months. His son and successor, Rev. Charles A. Santee, was pastor from 1892 until May, 1896, when the present incumbent, Rev. S. H. Dietzel, was called. His pastorate began on the 1st of January, 1897. The congregations at Cavetown, Leitersburg, and Wolfsville constitute the charge, Harbaugh's Church having been detached some years ago. The pastoral residence is at Cavetown.

In the summer of 1826 the Rev. Henry Kroh preached to his congregation in a grove near the village school house where the buildings are now located on the farm of George H. Wolfinger, formerly owned by Solomon Hartle.

For a period of nearly forty years, closing with 1866, the Reformed congregation worshiped in the Lutheran church, to the original erection of which its membership had made substantial contributions. From the 1st of January to the 18th of August, 1867, there was no Reformed service in Leitersburg. The use of the United Brethren church was then secured, and here services were regularly held until 1879. The erection of a church edifice was agitated in 1868, but the project never passed the initial stage. In the spring of 1878 another effort was made, resulting in the present edifice. Formal action in this direction. was first taken at a congregational meeting on the 5th of August, when articles of incorporation and a constitution for the government of the congregation were adopted, and a building committee was selected composed of Peter Middlekauff, Jacob Hartle, Solomon Hartle, John H. Miller, J. Freeland Leiter, John Middlekauff, and Rev. J. W. Santee, D. D. An acre of ground for church site and burial purposes was purchased from Joseph Barkdoll. On the 20th of August the committee decided to erect a brick building sixty feet long and thirty-five feet wide, with tower ten feet square; the general supervision of the work was entrusted to J. Freeland Leiter and Peter Middlekauff. The corner-stone was laid on the 19th of September, 1878, and the consecration occurred on the 16th of March, 1879. On the latter occasion the sermon was delivered by Rev. J. O. Miller, D. D., of York, Pa.; Dr. Santee and Rev. S. S. Miller were also present. Services were also held on three successive evenings of the following week, when the officiating clergymen were Revs. J. Spangler Kieffer, D. D., I. N. Motter, and F. F. Bahner. On the 30th of March, 1879, the churchyard was consecrated to the purposes of Christian burial. At that time the consistory was composed of Peter Middlekauff and Jacob Hartle, elders; John H. Miller and Jacob A. Ziegler, deacons.

The Sunday school was organized on the 20th of April, 1884, with the following officers: Superintendent, J. D. Lambert; assistant superintendent, B. F. Spessard; secretary, Emma Barn

hart; treasurer, J. P. Middlekauff. The first teachers were Emma Barnhart, J. A. Strite, J. D. Lambert, Alice Ziegler, Abigail Ziegler, Mrs. Catharine Miller, and Mrs. Rebecca Bowers. The number of scholars at the organization was thirty-five. The succession of superintendents has been as follows: J. D. Lambert, Clinton Hartle, John Summer, Iva Spessard, Harry Wolfinger, and Thomas Summer.

MILLER'S MENNONITE CHURCH.

There was a considerable number of Mennonites among the early settlers of Washington County. In 1776-77 they were a subject of consideration by the County Committee of Observation, as they declined to take up arms or participate in military exercises. Although excused from actual service they were required to furnish transportation and supplies for the county troops, to make contributions in money, and to assist the families of those who were in the army.

Among the early settlers of Leitersburg District who adhered to the Mennonite faith was Jacob Good, a resident near the Little Antietam as early as 1765. It is supposed that his immediate neighbors, Michael Miller and Andrew Reiff, were also Mennonites, but this can not be positively stated. John Barr, Jacob Miller, and John Strite, all of whom were Mennonites, located in the District prior to 1800, and Christian Shank in 1812. Among the most prominent and numerous Mennonite families in the adjacent Districts were the Shanks, Newcomers, Hoovers, Bachtels, Hoffmans, Weltys, and Eshlemans.

For many years the Mennonites in this part of Washington County met for public worship at private houses. It is an established fact that the stone house on the farm of Abraham H. Martin in Cavetown District, built in 1820 by Henry Shank, was a regular place of meeting for some years. On the Loose farm near Fiddlersburg stands a building erected many years ago by Martin Bachtel, who owned the farm at that time and was an influential member of the Mennonite connection, in which he held the office of minister. This building was used as a place of worship until the year 1835, when Miller's church in Leitersburg District was built. The original list of subscriptions for this purpose is still preserved and reads as follows: