The following history of the Mill Creek Church, also known as the Mauck Meeting House, was compiled by Richard A. Pence, whose Pence ancestors were members of the Baptist Congregation of Elder John Koontz and had close ties with the Maucks, Elder Koontz and the Rev. Martin Coffman. Henry Pence, the patriarch of this family, had two sons who married daughters of Daniel Mauck, two who married daughters of Rev. Coffman, and his son Henry (Jr.) married as his first wife the daughter of Elder Koontz, who, church minutes show, after the death of his daughter, brought a complaint of "hanky-panky" against Hernry (Jr.) that resulted in the latter's excommunication in 1802. The extant minutes of Mill Creek Church, beginning in 1798, are being serialized in the Newsletter of the Genealogical Society of Page County, with the first installment in the Winter, 1998, issue. The following material will eventually be a part of a book being written on the "Hawskbill Pences," who lived about 1 mile east of Marksville in present-day Page County from about 1760 to 1820, by Mr. Pence. Posted with the permission of the author and Jake Mauck, whose history of the church is in Part I. Also included, in Part II, are excerpts from a letter receive by Mr. Pence from Harry A. Brunk, whose books are mentioned elsewhere in this compilation.

If you have additional information on Mill Creek or new sources of information, please e-mail Richard Pence.

Related Sites:

Click here for a photo of the Old Mauck Meeting House.

Click here for information on the Hawksbill Pence Families.
 

Part I A History of the Mauck Meeting House

Part II The Beginnings of Mill Creek

Part III Elder John Koontz

Part IV The Rev. Martin Kaufman (Coffman)

Part V The Pleasant Run Congregation, Fairfield Co., Oh.

Name List Alphabetical List of Names In This Article

Built for religious purposes by the "Neighbors," mainly Mennonites from Switzerland and southern Germany. The outside of the pine log walls were covered in 1851 with white weatherboards and the structure was roofed with chestnut shingles. A central heating chimney and tin roof were installed later. Heat was provided by a large six-plate stove made at the local iron furnace and inscribed "D. Pennebacker - 1799." Early Mennonite ministers were John Roads; Martin, David and Michael Kauffman; Jacob Strickler and Abraham Heiston. Early Baptist ministers were James Ireland and John Koontz. Mauck Meeting House was used by the Baptists from 1790 until 1899.

The Pennsylvania Mennonites came to Virginia in 1726. The earliest date, and probably a reliable one, given for the first settlement of the Massanutten area of the Shenandoah Valley is 1726. Some of these early settlers may have been in the area shortly after Governor Spotswood's expedition in the area in 1716. One source of documentation for the 1726 date is Adam Miller's naturalization papers that show him to be a member of the settlement.

The reasons for the Mennonites to move from Lancaster County, Pa., to Massanutten involved the availability and price of land. As to availability, the custom of dividing farmland among male descendants obviously could not be successfully pursued more than a generation or two before the land parcels were too small to support a family. In the 1730s, land in Lancaster County sold for 10 to 15 shillings per acre. Land was available in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia for 2 to 4 shillings per acre. It was also possible to purchase as much as 10,000 acres of land while most of the Lancaster County land was available only in much smaller and separated parcels. By the 1740s, Lancaster land was selling for 25 to 30 shillings per acre. Therefore, a successful Mennonite farmer could sell his holdings in Pennsylvania and purchase a very large acreage in the Shenandoah Valley, either on speculation, or to improve and pass on to his heirs. It was the custom of the Mennonites to purchase land in widely separated areas rather than to cluster tightly together as if they wanted to separate themselves from other faiths and peoples. Most of the sources state that the first Mennonites in the Massanutten area were Swiss, although some German Mennonites were found among them, sharing the faith as well as the language.

The first land speculator in the Massanutten area was Jacob Stover who bought two 5,000-acre tracts from the Virginia Colonial Council and undertook an obligation to move settlers to the area as a condition of the sales. Jacob Stover was a native of Switzerland who came to Virginia by way of Pennsylvania. Stover brought his first settlers to the South Fork of the Shenandoah in 1727. Jacob Stover is reported by the Page News and Courier of Luray, Va. (Sept 24, 1959 issue), to be a great-great-great grandfather of the late President Dwight David Eisenhower.
 

Although in modern times, it is popular to deny the founding of our nation on religious principles, these early settlers were deeply religious. Their strong family ties were the foundation of the community. Considering the threat of hostile Native Americans, the dependence upon the fruitfulness of the land, and the rugged living conditions, it is no wonder that the settlers needed a strong God and a strong faith to support them on the frontier. The common saying that there are no atheists in a foxhole can be modified to state that there probably were no atheists on the frontier either. The Mennonites were often called "Quakers" in early writings, a misnomer owed in part to the fact that their religion was quite similar to that of the Quakers, and probably in part because the Mennonites were "not like us" to other settlers in the area. Quakers, Mennonites and Baptists were considered to be "dissidents" to the members of the State religion and all of the "dissident" activities were limited by law in colonial times.

The Mennonites, did not believe in warfare, sometimes not even in self-defense as noted in the massacre of the Rev. John Roads family near Luray in 1764. Rev. Roads, his wife and three sons were killed by Indians while two daughters and a son were taken captive. One daughter managed to escape with an infant sibling. The family apparently made no attempt to return fire or resist the Indians. The son was released after three years as a prisoner of the Indians who had killed his family.

Many Mennonites, however, held that fighting in self-defense was permissible. In 1758, the entire white population of the Shenandoah Valley was driven out of the Valley by hostile Indians and had to stay out of the Valley for several months before it was safe to return and rebuild. When we find Daniel, Rudolph, Richard and Henry Mauk serving under Lt. John Allen in the French-Indian War of 1758, we may speculate that they were serving in a defensive role, owing to their probable Mennonite background.
 

The Mennonites, as probably did other faiths, commonly held religious services in private homes. The reason for this practice was because of the sparse population, widely distributed, making a large gathering difficult to assemble. The weather was sometimes a factor that made travel difficult; while a lack of easy communication also played a part in making small meetings of close neighbors a more-liked form of worship. The Mennonite homes were sometimes built with movable partitions so that a larger area could be opened inside the residence for worship services with neighbors.

By 1740, however, the larger community desired to build a meeting house large enough to hold a formal worship service that all could attend. It is quite likely that during the planning of the meeting house, it was agreed that the Mennonites would hold a "house raisin'" for the community as was done for young couples establishing a household. The logs would be cut and shaped in advance as the building materials were gathered and then a date selected for the raising of the structure. With the entire community participating, a building could be erected and nearly completed in one day. The women would prepare large, rich meals while the men did the heavy work of erecting the building. There would be a festive air about the proceedings as the adults worked socially together while the children ran and played. The event would be fondly remembered for years.

Rudolph Mauck apparently owned the land that the meeting house stands upon until he sold it to Christian Maggart in 1754. As the meeting house did not occupy enough land to detract from the parcel it was located upon, it likely was ignored in land transactions under the common understanding that the meeting house belonged to the community.

Regarding the date of the building of the church, there are several conflicting witnesses. After hearing (or reading) them all, I am persuaded by the reasoning of Harry Anthony Brunk (3). Brunk reasons that had the meeting house been built ca. 1797, as some would have it, on Daniel Mauck's land, Daniel himself would have dealt with the church in his will, written only about five years later. There is also a probability that the building of the structure would have been noted in church records that began about that time. Brunk also points to the fact that writings of the first decade 1800s refer to the meeting house as an "old" one, indicating that the church was much more than ten years old. Brunk further reasons that unsettled times between the 1840s and the Revolution would not have allowed for the building of a new structure of this type, but that the "prosperous years of the early settlement" or 1730-1740 would have been a reasonable time for such an undertaking. Brunk believes that the building stands on land acquired by Daniel Mauck from Lord Fairfax in 1764, and that the meeting house was already existent when Daniel purchased the land.

It is said in many references that Daniel Mauck built the Mill Creek or Mauck Meeting House, but records show that Daniel Mauck was born ca. 1740, about the same time the meeting house was erected. It is more likely that Daniel Mauck, after acquiring the 270 acres of land that included the church from John and Elizabeth Koontz in 1786, caused the church to be rebuilt and refurbished as a "union church" for the community in about 1797, and thereby had his name attached to the building.
 

Harry Anthony Brunk, in his history, reports that a congregation that called itself The Mill Creek Baptist Church organized in 1797 and began by restoring the old building. The log walls were covered with weatherboard, a new ceiling was added, and a metal roof was installed. As Daniel Mauck owned the land that the church was standing upon, and as Daniel was at that time a "Primitive Baptist," it is probable that Daniel Mauck led the efforts to restore the building and thereby had his name associated with the Mauck Meeting House. There is some question whether the balconies were added at the time of the restoration. Some argue that as the Mennonites did not own slaves, and as none were in the neighborhood at the original construction, that the balconies were-not needed. The Baptists, on the other hand, may have recognized the presence of slaves in the neighborhood by 1797 and provided space for them by building the balconies. Church records show that slaves and free blacks were baptized into membership of the Baptist Church. Other sources hold that the balconies were a part of the original structure for added seating.

Newspaper sources indicate that the Mauck Meeting House was renovated sometime after 1959 when the weatherboards were removed and the log walls were restored. In 1922, the Hamburg community began an annual event in the meeting house that they called "Old Folks Sings." The songbook used was "The New Harmonia Sacra," first published in 1832 as "Genuine Church Music" by Joseph Funk. The singing event name was changed to "The Harmonica Sacra Sing" in 1952 to attract young people to participate. The 1952 sing was the first of several "sings" held as fund-raisers to restore and maintain the historic building.

Now, and probably for all time to come, with the help of the builder's descendants, and others in the community, the Mauck Meeting House, known in other times as "The Hamburg Church" and "The Mill Creek Church" will live on, to keep us mindful of those faithful and hardy pioneers who one day, long, long ago, had a really good time in the building of it.

Daniel's son Joseph conveyed two tracts of land to John Brubaker in 1811 and excepted the "one acre and twelve square perches" of land that the church stood upon, saying that the church was "built by neighbors for religious purposes." Before that transaction, however, in 1807, Joseph actually deeded the "small lot of land that the house stands on" to the public, stating: "...the friends of religion and good order, did by Subscription build a house of worship on the land of Joseph Mauck of said County which house is commonly known and called by the name of Maucks Meeting House...." The deed was not recorded until 1818. The "Subscription" idea supports the "house-raisin'" hypothesis.
 

Another church was built, west of Luray, Va., on the Shenandoah River that has caused some confusion in that it was also known at times as The Mill Creek Church. It was built in 1760 by Martin Kauffman, Jr., as a Mennonite Church. The structure contained a fortified basement, probably because of the Indian attacks of 1758 which had driven the settlers out of the valley. The name White House Church came from the White House Bend of the Shenandoah River. The church was known as the Mill Creek Church at a time when it was associated with the Mill Creek Church at Hamburg. That associated naming has caused casual readers to confuse one church with the other.
 

In 1770, Elder John Koontz, a Baptist preacher from Front Royal, Va., came to Massanutten and began to preach the Baptist creed. Actually, there was little difference btween the Mennonite religion and that practiced by the "Old School" or "Primitive" Baptist creed taught by John Koontz. The Mennonites baptized by sprinkling while the Baptists baptized by immersion. Both religions were very strict in moral conduct, so the conversion amounted to more one of name than anything else. One unusual aspect of John Koontz personality was that he considered himself to be a direct descendant of the original John the Baptist.

One may only speculate about why the Mennonites converted to the Baptist creed, but by the end of the 18th century, there were very few, if any, Mennonites in the Massanutten community. John Koontz did receive some rough treatment at the beginning of his ministry at Massanutten, as he was severely beaten on more than one occasion by "roughnecks" in the neighborhood.

When John Koontz came to Massanutten, Martin Kauffman, Jr., was one of his first converts, giving Rev. Koontz access to The White House Church. Members of that congregation who did not convert immediately went to the Mill Creek Church at Hamburg until members there also decided to convert to the Baptist creed.

We have written two books on The History of the Mennonites of Virginia, Vol. I, 1727-1900 and Vol. II, 1900-1960. There are references in these books to the Mill Creek Church. We think the meeting house was built under the auspices of the Mennonites in the early pro--- years of the Page settlement. The date that P. M. Kaufman gives for the building of the Church is 1780. The church was likely built on the lands of Lord Fairfax, who gave land for the building of churches. Then in 1764 Daniel Mauck bought the land on which the church stood. Mauck, as I recall, made his will in 1802 shortly before his death and in it he says nothing about the church. If the church had been built about 1800, as some think, he certainly would have mentioned it in his will. Another argument for the antiquity of the building is a statement by Semple in his underlying history of the Baptist Church, published in 1810. He spoke of Mill Creek as an old church. Dory Bouserman of Luray dates the building of the building in 1770--shortly before the outbreak of the Revolution. That was a time of Church trouble. The Baptists' leading elder Koontz had come into the area. They were more active than the Mennonites and a number of Mennonites joined the Baptist Church. One was Martin Kauffman, Jr. Soon after the Baptist revival in Page County, preparations were being made for war, should there be one[;] protective societies were formed. The Mennonites could not contribute to them. Martin Kauffman Jr. found himself in a church that favored war - he could not go along. The Baptists thought Kauffman should stay in the church if the Baptists accepted him, even if he was opposed to war. He (Kauffman) should be big enough to stay in the Baptist Church since they would tolerate him, etc., and he tolerate them. No - Martin could not do it. He withdrew from the Baptist Church, and began preaching in his own home--at the White House, still standing on the banks of the Shenandoah River. Martin had quite a following--say as many as 60 members at one time. The movement depended largely on Kauffman - many of his members moved to Fairfax [Fairfield] County, Ohio, after the war and I think Martin went in 1804 - not sure of the date.³ War or church division worked against the Mennonites in the area. Many of them left the community. Some joined the Baptist Church and Koontz and the Baptists took over at Mill Creek. You are likely right in thinking that Elder Koontz performed many of the marriages in the Pence family and some could have been performed in Mill Creek Meeting House. I failed to mention that Joseph Mauck gave a deed for the church in settling the estate of his father in 1811. Deed recorded in Shenandoah County. I think.... I have seen and read some of the minutes of the Mill Creek Church. As I recall, they began about 1798 - about the time that the Baptists had full possession of the church. The church was reconditioned about that time, we think. The logs were covered with weatherboards, new ceiling and gallerys for the slave members were built in and a new roof was put on the building. As I recall one minute of the book had to do with members of Martin Kauffman's church. It was decided that 'orderly members' of the Kauffman group might be accepted as members of the church. Where are these records? They must be in existence, but at this writing I can't say where they are.

The following account of John Koontz's long career as a Baptist minister is gathered from [Robert Baylor] Semple's History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia, published in 1810 (pp. 184-189), from [C. W.] Beale's revised account of Semple's history (pp. 242-247), from [Garnett] Ryland's The Baptists of Virginia (pp. 55, 56 and 58), from the minutes of the Mill Creek Church (preserved in the library of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society) and from other records.

John Koontz [son of Johannes Kuntz and Anna Elizabeth Catherine Stoever; she was the daughter of John Casper Stoever, the noted Lutheran minister in both Pennsylvania and Virginia; p. 105], living in Frederick County near Front Royal, was touched by the message of the early Baptist preachers, and went over to Fauquier County, where he was baptized on a profession of his faith in December, 1768. He immediately began preaching, with considerable effect, near his home, but in November of 1770, he travelled up the Shenandoah to the neighborhood of Mill Creek, where his brother George lived, and began preaching there. The people in this section were of both English and German extraction, and Mr. Koontz preached eloquently in both languages. There were many converts from his preaching, but they were baptized by the Rev. Lewis Craig, as Koontz had not yet been ordained. Among the first converts was Martin Kaufman, who also preached in both German and English to good effect. For several years, Mr. Koontz continued to live near what is now Front Royal, but he made frequent visits to Mill Creek. During this time the church was organized there in 1772, Martin Kaufman and another minister, Anderson Moffett, doing much of the preaching when Koontz was not present. During this time, probably, Mr. Koontz was ordained a minister, or Elder, as the early Baptists called the office. In 1774 or 1775, he settled in the Mill Creek neighborhood and became the pastor of the church there, a position which he continued to hold for 50 years.

Like practically all the early Baptist preachers, Elder Koontz traveled about a great deal, preaching, his companion frequently being Martin Kaufman, and he suffered considerable opposition as well as actual persecution in the early years. Many of the German converts to his preaching had been Mennonites, and the German Mennonites from Pennsylvania sent down several preachers of their faith to oppose Elder Koontz, but they had little success. The more unruly elements of the population opposed him more brutally. On one occasion he was going to preach in a neighborhood, but before he got there, was seized on the road by a mob and was severely beaten. At another place, after preaching, he was forbidden to preach there again by ruffians, and his persisting in returning, was badly beaten again. On another occasion, Koontz and Kaufman were on a preaching tour and heard the mob approaching while they were guests in a house. Koontz managed to slip away, but poor Martin Kaufman was seized and brutally beaten in mistake for him. Again, later on he was seized by a mob and threatened with imprisonment for unauthorized preaching (a fate which befell many early Baptist preachers); but the Elder stoutly maintained that he was a man of God and that they were fighting against God with their threats, whereat they relented and released him. Mr. Semple says that this was the last violent attack made on him.

We have mentioned that many of Mr. Koontz's converts had been reared as Mennonites. The Mennonite ministers from Pennsylvania contended that "Christians ought not to hold with going to war, with slavery, or with taking legal oaths; that these were fundamental points. Koontz replied that Baptists, upon these points, left every man at discretion, wishing each to follow the dictates of his conscience." Many of the members of his church at Mill Creek served in the Revolutionary War. However, a good many of them still held to these Mennonite principles, including Koontz's old companion, Martin Kaufman. These members withdrew and formed a new Baptist Church under Kaufman's leadership, opposed to war, slavery and oath, and finally moved to Ohio. However, this group was a minority, and Mill Creek Church continued to flourish under Elder Koontz's ministry. The minutes show that he was very active and always attended the associational meetings up to extreme old age. Finally, on March 13, 1824, "Elder John Koontz resigned the pastorate, due to extreme age and infirmity." He was 85 years of age at the time. The difficulty about securing a new pastor, however, and "Father Koontz" still acted as Moderator of many of the business sessions of the church up to nearly the time of his death.

At the July Court, 1785, John Counce, a Baptist minister, was licensed to perform marriages.⁵ In 1783 he is shown in Shenandoah County with seven in his family. On 14 June 1806 John Koontz Sr. and Elizabeth, his wife, deeded 134 acres of land to his son, Isaac Koontz.⁶ The bulk of this, 127 acres, is described as being on the branches of the Hawksbill Creek and was bought from Lewis Bibler and Mary, his wife.⁷ The land adjoined that of Emanuel Ruffner, which once was part of several large grants made to John Lionberger. Holtzclaw says (p. 111) that this was the "home place" of Elder Koontz, "which his son Isaac occupied until his death, still owned by descendants, on which the family burying ground containing Elder Koontz's grave is located."⁸ The will of John Koontz of Shenandoah County, dated March 14, 1807, and probated in Page County, Va., May 28, 1832, mentions his wife, Elizabeth; three sons, Jacob, John and Isaac; and daughter Elizabeth, deceased.⁹

The Shenandoah County deeds show him as follows: (1) Oct. 1776, David Coffman and Dorothy, his wife, of Dunmore County, to John Countz of same, 86 acres on the east side of the south fork of the Shenandoah River;¹⁰ (2) 24 Mar. 1784, Christian Bumgarner to John Countz 2 acres;¹¹ (3) 29 Mar. 1786, John Koontz to Danial Mauck 86 acres sold him by Coffman; deed acknowledged by Elizabeth, wife of John Koontz;¹² (4) 1 Aug. 1786, Lewis Bibler and Barbary his wife to John Koontz, 127 acres;¹³ (5) 13 Oct. 1800, Martin Coffman and Mary his wife to John Koontz, 7 acres.¹⁴

Martin Kaufman (-1805) [he was the son of Martin Kaufman of Lancaster County, Pa., and his wife, Barbara (?) Stauffer (Stover)] md. Mary Lionberger ( ) dau of John Lienberger; md. 2 to Mary Taylor, dau. of John Taylor, alias Snyder (his second wife died April 27, 1820). One Hans Schneider, alias Taylor, settled in Lancaster County, Pa., 1718. Died 1745, wife Feronica, who then married Peter Good. Issue: John; Barbara md. Joseph Brown; Feronica, Elizabeth and Mary. The three last, minors in 1745.

May 6, 1760, Lord Fairfax granted 240 acres of land to Martin Coffman. This land was in Frederick County, Va., adjoining land Martin Coffman already had. It was on easterly side of South River of Shenandoah, adjoining lands of Jacob Burner, Christian Herzberger, and Christian Maggert. See Va. Patent Book O, p. 140. Fairfax required an annual payment of one shilling per 50 acres. This 240-acre tract adjoined the 300-acre tract gotten by his father in 1736 of Ludowick Stone and totaled 540 acres. Nov. 21, 1770, for the sum of 5 shillings he and his wife Mary deeded 270 acres or half to his brother David Kaufman.

Sep. 13, 1771, Lewis Pence, executor of John Lienberger, deceased owner of 1100 acres on the Little Hawkbill River in Frederick County, Va., deeded to Mary Coffman, wife of Martin Coffman and one of the daughters of John Lienberger 192 acres.

Martin Kaufman was commonly known as Whitehouse Martin Kaufman to distinguish him from Hawkbill Martin Kaufman. He was a preacher associated with Rev. John Kountz. When the Primitive Baptist Church was organized at "Whitehouse" in 1770, Martin Kaufman and many who were of Mennonite ancestry, and still maintained it was wrong to take up arms joined religious forces. However, when the Revolution came on, the church became divided. One faction followed Rev. John Kountz holding services at Kountz's home. The other meeting at the Whitehouse under Martin Kaufman as their pastor.

An echo of this religious difference as well as a bit of local history of the section may be gleaned from the will of Philadelphia Woodman dated Dec. 31, 1787, Massanuttam, Shenandoah County, Va. To Martin Coffman, Sr., 5 pounds; my walnut chest to Martin Coffman, son of Martin; my cow to David Coffman, son of Martin; my sheep to Peter Coffman; my big Bible to Anna Bungerman; my other books to Martin Coffman; a fine apron and handkerchief to Martin Coffman's daughters, Mary and Magdalen; 50 lbs. of hemp to Mary Bence [probably the wife of Henry]; 100 lbs. of hemp to Mary Bellows [quite likely the mother of Elizabeth, who married Adam Pence, the son of Adam]; to Mary Coffman 20 yds. of linen and 10 yds. of lindsey; to Amelia Boon one white silk handkerchief; to Bartlet Bennette if he comes back from Caintuck [Kentucky] 5 pounds. The rest of her property to be sold and the proceeds divided: 1/2 of the money to Martin Coffman's church to relieve the poor. 1/2 to John Koonz's church to relieve the poor. Her executors were David and Martin Coffman. The witnesses were John Coffman and Ann Bongerman.¹⁶

Martin Kaufman's will was witnessed by Abraham Strickler and David Beaver. His executor was John Roads. His will says that sons Martin and Peter had already gotten their legacies. That son John was to hold the home place until Joseph, Benjamin and Isaac were 21. Son David was to get the Hawkbill tract of 192 acres coming from the Lionbergers. Joseph was to get home place but pay his sisters Maria [married Jacob Pence, son of Henry (Sr.)], Magdalena [married Joseph Pence, son of Henry], Anna and Christina.¹⁷

Alfred Mesnard has kindly furnished me the original and continuous books of record of the Pleasant Run Regular Baptist Church, of which he is the present Secretary. It will be seen by the following extract from the first page, that the church was first constituted in the year 1806:

April the 19th, 1806, then met according to appointment and opened our meeting with prayer and praise. Second - proceeded to business, with. choosing our Moderator, Martin Coffman.¹⁹ Third - we also chose Samuel Comer for our Clerk; so ending our meeting with praise and thanksgiving.

Martin Coffman, Moderator.

Samuel Comer, Clerk.

Names of the Members of Pleasant Run Church:
 

1 Wm. Hopwood.	22 Ann Hite.	44 Emanuel Ruffner.
2 Abraham Hite.	23 Christian Hover.	45 Ann Spitler.
3 Magdalen Ruffner.	24 Susan Musselman.	46 Jacob Spitler.
4 Elizabeth Warner.	25 Barbary Hite.	47 Timothy Collins.
5 Adam Giger.	26 Samuel Comer.	48 Phoebe Collins.
6 Mary Giger.	27 Elizabeth Comer.	49 Barbary Beaver.
7 Magdalen Giger.	28 Sister Hannah.	50 Magdalen Taylor.
8 Conrod Hite.	29 Sister Bibler.	Joseph Stider [Stouder).
9 Aaron Powel.	30 Christian Cagy.	John Moorhead.
10 Sister Powel.	31 Mary Cagy.	Christian Coffman.
11 Martin Coffman.	32 John Hite.	James Owens.
12 Ann Coffman.	34 Sister Cussman.	79 Mary Coffman.
13 Magdalen Wise.	35 Jacob Bibler.	80 Smith Goodens.
14 Ann Miller.	36 Jacob Bibler, Jr.	Aaron Ashbrook.
15 Elizabeth Histand.	37 Caty Bibler.	Eli Ashbrook.
16 Frank [Francis] Bibler.	38 David Bibler.	Caty Asbbrook.
17 Mary Bibler.20	39 John Bibler.	81 Neely Bibler.
18 Audrew Hite.	40 Barbary Bibler.	82 Magdalane Spitler.
19 Ann Hite.	41 Lewis Sites.	83 Magdalane Hite.
20 Samuel Hite.	42 Ann Sites.
21 John Hite.	43 Christiana Woolf.

Baptised since our last:
 

51 George White.	61 Abraham Bibler.	71 Sister Brumlang.
52 Jacob Spitler.	62 Sister Keller.	72 -
53 Susan Spitler.	63 Cissa Miller.	73 Mary Bibler.
54 Jacob Musselman.	64 Joseph Hite.	74 Jacob Bibler.
55 Peter Spitler.	65 James Davis.	75 Barbary Bibler.
56 John Hite.	66 Thomas Warner.	76 -
57 Betsy Bibler.	67 Susanna Spitler.	-
58 Mady Hoopwood.	68 Ann Histand.
59 Abraham Hite.	69 Cissy Studer [Stouder].
60 John Bibler.	70 Jacob Studer [Stouder].

The omission of number 33 in the list, reduces the number to 89, by supplying the numbers 72, 76, 77 and 78 with names, which we are allowed to think were not remembered. The record literally quoted, is a relic as well as history, and on that account valuable.

So far as is known, not one of the above persons is living today. Pleasant Run Church is a living church at this time, with a few less than one hundred members. The congregation has continued its place of worship from the first, viz.: in April, 1806, up to the present spring of 1877, on the same spot where it began, which is a short distance north of Strickler's Crossroads, in the northeast corner of Pleasant Township. They have a commodious church edifice, sometimes spoken of as Strickler's Church, and sometimes as the Baptist Church, though the title they assume is that of the Pleasant Run Church.

It is a melancholy thought, that the ninety persons once composing that body, so full of life, and love, and Christian zeal, and filling their places in all of life's affairs, are no more. Their voices are all silent, and their forms have disappeared. They have passed to their reward in the better land. The present pastors of the church are: Revs. Schofield and Barker.

1. Presented 13 Oct. 1996 at the Mauck/Mock Family Historian Worship Service at Hamburg, Va. Mr. Mauck is a descendant of Daniel Mauch, two of whose daughters married sons of Henry Pence (Sr.). Our thanks to Jake for permission to print this history. These sources were cited by Mr. Mauck for his presentation:

1. Harry M. Strickler, Massanutten, Settled by the Pennsylvania Pilgrim, 1726 (The First White Settlement in the Shenandoah Valley) (Knightstown, Ind.: The Bookmark, reprinted 1979).
2. Harry Anthony Brunk, History of the Mennonites in Virsginia, 1727-1900, Vol I (Saunton, Va.: McClure Printing Company, 1959).
3. Page News and Courier, Luray, Va., Thursday, Sep. 24, 1959 and Aug. 8, 1957.
4. Daily News-Record, Harrisonburg, Va., Saturday, Aug. 5, 1972: 8.
5. Mennonite Year Book and Almanac For The Year Of Our Lord 1911 (Quakertown, Pa.: Published by the Eastern Mennonite Conference), 18.
6. Richard K. MacMaster, Land, Piety, Peoplehood: The Establishment of Mennonite Communities in America, 1683-1790 (Kitchener, Ont.: Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1985).

3. This Martin died about then in Shenandoah Co.; it was his son, also Martin, who went to Fairfield Co.

4. B. C. Holtzclaw, Ancestry and Descendants of the Nassau-Siegen Immigrants to Virginia, 1714-1750, Chapter 6, "The Coons-Koontz Family," 109-111.

5. Shenandoah Co., Va., Order Book, 1784-1786, 233.

6. Shen. Co. Deed Book P, 201.

7. Shen. Co. DB F, 31 Aug. 1786, 239.

8. Strickler, op. cit., 281 and 371-372.

9. Page Co. WB A, p. 26-27.

10. Shen. Co. DB B, 426.

11. Shen. Co. DB E, 49.

12. Shen. Co. DB F, 16.

13. Shen. Co. DB F, 239.

14. Shen Co. DB H, 271.

15. Charles F. Kaufman, A Genealogy and History of the Kaufman-Coffman Families :York, Pa.: 1940), 516-517.

16. Philadelphia Woodman's will was proved 31 Jan. 1788 (Shen. Co. WB B, 421); no reference to the name Woodman can be found in the Shenandoah County deed books from 1772-1820 or in the marriage records up to 1850, so the identify of this woman with close ties to the Mill Creek families cannot be determined.

17. Shen. Co. WB F, 324, written 5 Feb. 1805, proved 9 Apr. 1805; the will also says his wife, Maria, is to get Taylor's place.

18. Hervey Scott, Complete History of Fairfield County, Ohio, (Columbus: Siebert and Lilley, 1877), 129-131.

19. This was apparently the son of Rev. Martin Coffman.

20. She was the daughter of Adam Pence (Sr.) and the wife of Francis (Frank) Bibler.