Rev. David Elliott, D.D., LL.D. and Ann West

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Husband Rev. David Elliott, D.D., LL.D. ^{1 2 3 4}

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           Born: 6 Feb 1787 2 4
     Christened: 
           Died: 18 Mar 1874 2 5
         Buried: 

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         Father: Thomas Elliott (Abt 1730-      ) 4 6 7
         Mother: Mrs. Jane Holliday (1745-      ) 4

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       Marriage: 14 May 1812 8

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• Biographical Sketch: Alfred Nevin, D.D., LL.D., Men of Mark of the Cumberland Valley, Pa. 1776-1876 (Philadelphia, PA: Fulton Publishing Co., 1876).
To read a brief biographical sketch of his life and career, click here.

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Wife Ann West ⁸

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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         Father: Edward West (      -      ) 1
         Mother: Jane Stevenson (      -1797) 1

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Children

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1 F Westanna S. Elliott ⁹

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           Born: 7 Mar 1821 3
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: John Patton Lyon (1815-1886) 9
           Marr: 11 Feb 1840 3

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General Notes: Husband - Rev. David Elliott, D.D., LL.D.

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He was born on the Boden farm, in an old log house. After attending the schools of the neighborhood and when sixteen years of age, he was sent to a classical school in Tuscarora Valley, taught by the Rev. John Coulter, and in 1804 began study at a classical school in Mifflintown, where he finished his studies in Greek and Latin. At this time the Rev. Matthew Brown was pastor of the Cedar Spring congregation, and resigned to take a position in Washington College, at Washington, Pennsylvania, of which he later was president. Through his influence, David Elliot became an assistant instructor in the college in 1805, and in January, 1807, he entered the college, from which he graduated September 28, 1808. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Carlisle, September 26, 1811, and February 19, 1812, received a call to settle as pastor of the Upper West Conecocheague Church at Mercersburg, Franklin County, where he labored until 1829. On July 6, 1829, he was called to the pastorate of the Presbyterian Church at Washington, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1836. While serving as pastor at this place, he was instrumental in the reviving of Washington College, which, for several years, had been on the decline. The degree of "D.D." was conferred upon him, in 1835, by the board of trustees of Jefferson College, at Cannonsburg, and "LL.D." in 1847, by Washington College. In the summer of 1836 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Pennsylvania extended to him a call to accept a professorship in the Western Theological Seminary, at Allegheny City, which he accepted. He retired from active duties in the seminary in 1870, and was elected emeritus professor, and served the seminary with his counsel until his death. He was moderator of the General Assembly in 1838, at a most trying time. To quote from Dr. J. I. Brownson's address on his life, he says:
"Never did a Presbyterian moderator occupy the chair in so momentous and trying a crisis. Yet there he sat, calm above the tumult, meeting each emergency with instant decision, and yet with an accuracy which, in every instance, received the sanction of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, as expressed in the opinion rendered by one of the ablest judges of this or any other State,-the late Chief Justice John Bannister Gibson. That eminent jurist, after a most exhaustive review of the proceedings,-of which the moderator's decisions were often the most vital,-as well as the pleadings, arguments of counsel and the adverse judgments of the Court of Nisi Prius, vindicated each of these decisions separately, as well as all of them conjointly. It was just after this searching review that the distinguished chief justice is reported to have said, in conversation with a gentleman of the bar, that Pennsylvania had only missed having the best lawyer in the State, in the person of Dr. Elliot, by his becoming a minister of the gospel."

1 Conway P. Wing, D.D., History of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations (Philadelphia, PA: James D. Scott, 1879), Pg 92.

2 Editor, History of the Susquehanna and Juniata Valleys (Philadelphia, PA: Everts, Peck & Richards, 1886), Pg 1035.

3 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 400.

4 Alfred Nevin, D.D., LL.D., Men of Mark of the Cumberland Valley, Pa. 1776-1876 (Philadelphia, PA: Fulton Publishing Co., 1876), Pg 180.

5 Alfred Nevin, D.D., LL.D., Men of Mark of the Cumberland Valley, Pa. 1776-1876 (Philadelphia, PA: Fulton Publishing Co., 1876), Pg 185.

6 Editor, Biographical Annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905), Pg 507.

7 Leander James McCormick, McCormick Family Record and Biography (Chicago, IL: Publisher Unknown, 1896), Pg 475.

8 Alfred Nevin, D.D., LL.D., Men of Mark of the Cumberland Valley, Pa. 1776-1876 (Philadelphia, PA: Fulton Publishing Co., 1876), Pg 182.

9 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 395.