CHURCH: Church History, Somerset County, PA 

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Carol Hepburn {chepburn@cox.net}


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Church of God

The Church of God served a very prominent part of Somerset History, especially 
in Lower and Upper Turkeyfoot Township. The Reverend Monticue, a former minister 
at the Church of God in Kingwood described the essence of the Church of God in 
Somerset County as follows: 

"The church doctrine is close to the Brethren Church with Calvinistic leanings. 
The local sect followed the teachings of Weinburger and spread from the 
Harrisburg Region with the German migration. They did not practice the use of 
snakes as does some of the more radical sects in the South who also call their 
church, The Church of God. This sect practices three ordinances, which they 
choose not to call sacraments:
Baptism by immersion (one time backwards). The Lord's Supper and the Washing of 
the feet." 

Followers of The Church of God can be found in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, 
Michigan, and California. 

The Methodist Church

The first Methodist society was founded in Berlin in 1786. The first Methodist 
preachers to Somerset County were Jacob LURTON and Lasley MATTHEWS, who were 
assigned the Redstone Circuit, which included Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virgina (West 
Virginia). In 1788, they entered the county and founded circuit stops are 
Somerfield, Confluence, and Berlin. When they arrived in Somerset in 1788, they 
found records that a Michael KING had been serving as preacher as early as 1783. 

George JOHNSON, an Englishman, came to America before the Revolutionary War. He 
joined the army at Sherpardstown, Virginia and later came to Berlin, where he 
opened his home as the first Methodist Society. Johnson served as preacher to 
the society during the absence of the circuit preachers. 

The first church building was erected in 1831. The building was gutted by fire 
in 1925 and later rebuilt. 

The second oldest Methodist church in the county is Hopewell Church in Jenners 
Township. Moses FREAM, of Hagerstown, MD, built a two storey log home in 1792. 
The first story was used as a school and the building was often used by the 
circuit preachers who came through the county. 

The Lutheran Church

The Lutheran Church was first established in the county in 1777 in Berlin. The 
Lutheran and 
Reformed congregations joined together to build a church and school in Berlin - 
later the Lutherans sold their share of the school to the Reformers for $10. In 
1800 the Lutheran congregation built a two story log building on the site of the 
Lutheran cemetery. 

The Rev. John WOLF LITZEL was the first minister of the Alleghey synod. Previous 
ministers were recorded in Berlin as early as 1780. Michael STEG (1788-1793) and 
Frederick W. LANGE (1793-1813). 

The second oldest Lutheran church in Somerset County is Freiden's Evangelical 
Lutheran Church which was organized in 1780. Father John M. STECK, of 
Chambersburg, frequently preached in Somerset and was recorded there as early as 
1783. 

Trinity Lutheran Church was co-founded by Adam SCHNEIDER in 1795. The Rev. 
Frederick W. LANGE was the first pastor at Trinity. 

The Reformed Church

The Reformed Church was among the earliest churches founded in Somerset. Peter 
ANKENY, co-founder of the Somerset Reformed church came here in 1773. 

The first ordained minister to pastor in Somerset was the Rev. John William 
WEBBER who came to 
Greensburg in 1783. From 1785-1788 he made visits to Berlin, Stoyestown, and 
Salisbury. 

The Presbyterian Church

The first record of a Presbyterian church in the county appears on October 18, 
1796. It is quite possible that their were churches early than this - but no 
records exist. The first record of supplies (from the Redstone Presbytry) occurs 
in 1796 and up through 1817. In December of 1817, Mr. John Ross, was established 
as minister. 

The Baptist Church

The Baptist Church was first established in the Jersey Settlement in Turkeyfoot 
Township in 1775. It is believed to be the first Baptist church west of the 
Alleghenies. 

The German Baptist church - or Dunkard were among the very first religious group 
to settle in Somerset. 

To read more about the German Baptist Brethren, click here. 

The Catholic Church

The first Roman Catholic Church held in Somerset was Christmas night in 1920. 
Catholic mass was probably said in homes and at the county courthouse since 
1910. 

(excerpted from Somerset Past, Vol VI, No. , pp. 14)