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daring, hardy lad, and amidst his pioneer surroundings rapidly developed stature and strength. Samuel Finley, who came at the same time, but not a relative, was in charge of the farm, aided by his Negro slaves brought from
Maryland. Samuel was drafted for militia duty, but Ebenezer was allowed to go as his substitute. While at Fort Wallace a rider brought news of the approach of Indians, Young Finley was one of the party of twenty men who left the fort, and soon came upon a large body of Indians before whom they retreated, keeping up a running fight. Finley's gun would not go off, and in stopping to fix it he fell behind the others. An Indian with a leveled gun was about to shoot him, when a settler's shot struck him. Finley ran, closely pursued, and soon caught up with the hindmost man, who received the tomahawk, intended for Finley, in the back of his head. Close pressed, but protected by the fire of a comrade, he safely crossed the bridge and reached the fort. A remarkable case of premonition or telepathy, or call it as one may, must here be recorded: During young Finley's running fight and narrow escapes, just mentioned, his father, Rev. James Finley, three hundred miles away, had a strange and undefinable impression that his son was in great danger, but could form no distinct conception of its nature or cause. He fell to his knees and spent a long time in earnest prayer for his son, arising with the comfortable feeling that the danger was past. He made a note of the time, and when a few weeks later he received a letter from his son giving an account of his narrow escapes from death, he saw that the time corresponded exactly with his own strange experience. Rev. Finley was a man of absolute truth—the reader must settle for himself what was the cause of this wireless intercourse between father and son and separated by three hundred miles of space."
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The following story was recorded about Finley having a premonition when his third son and fourth child, Ebenezer (1758–1849), barely escaped an Indian attack: " came to
Fayette county with his father in 1772 and settled on lands in Redstone township, purchased by his father in 1771. Ebenezer was a
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In "Ever a
Frontier: The Bicentennial History of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary," a short biography of Finley concludes: "Finley was one of the 'honored seven,'" all graduates of Princeton College, who carried the responsibility of spreading Christianity and Presbyterianism throughout the
100:, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a cousin of the Finleys, and moved into the Samuel Finley home at the age of six upon the death of his father. Through his brother Samuel, James was likely acquainted with another signer of the Declaration of Independence,
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in furtherance of the interests of
Pennsylvania. He made several trips to then Westmoreland County, likely to the area of present Greene and Washington Counties, where he collected signatures on petitions which are now at
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In 1752, Finley married Hannah Evans (1715 – April 1, 1795), daughter of Robert Evans. The couple had seven sons and two daughters. Eight of their children lived to adulthood. A son, James (1769–1772), died aged three.
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Dwight
Guthrie, "Presbyterian Beginnings in the West," Ever a Frontier: The Bicentennial History of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, edited by James Arthur Walther, Wm. B. Eerdmanns Publishing Company, 1994, pages
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was so uncomfortable that he moved to a boarding house on the edge of town. Other sources state that the home where
Jefferson wrote the Declaration was owned and occupied by Jacob Graff, a local bricklayer.
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expanses of the west. That they did in their own way, so very successfully that the whole area was soon called their "Western Zion." Finley died at 1795 at the age of seventy. He left a bequest to
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90:, from 1761 until 1766). James graduated from Princeton, though actually, he attended and graduated from the predecessor institution then known as William Tennant's
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Genealogical and
Personal History of Fayette County Pennsylvania, Vol. I-II, John W. Jordan, ed. New York, USA: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1912
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He traveled to western
Pennsylvania three or four times before 1782, possibly as early as 1765. In 1771 Finley conducted sabbath services over the
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173:, he was connected to the house where the Declaration of Independence was initially drafted. Web sources have him as owning the house, in which
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63:, Ireland, the son of Michael Finley and Anne daughter of Samuel O'Neill. He immigrated to America at the age of nine, and studied under
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This article is about the minister and
American historical figure. For the contemporary author and teacher of Christian mysticism, see
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Wilfred Jordan, Colonial and
Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania. NY: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1935 6 vv.
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Finley had a revival experience under the influence of Robert Smith and traveled with noted evangelist
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in Washington. Some have speculated that these trips were also spying missions carried out for
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Clan Finley RADM Herald F. Stout, 2d Ed 2 VV bound as 1, Dover OH:1956, V1 p26
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In 1782 he accepted a call from the united congregations at the Forks of the
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http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~cafamilies/finley/famous.html
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List Members of PA State Legislature, PA State Library, Harrisburg
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James was brother of Andrew Finley and brother and student of
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to serve as pastor to several congregations and settlements.
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minister and politician who was a pioneer resident of
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35:(February 4, 1725 – January 6, 1795) was an American
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Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
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162:Academy, which became Jefferson College and then
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291:http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/graff.htm
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59:James Finley was born on February 4, 1725, in
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169:Finley family history holds that during the
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343:Washington & Jefferson College people
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49:United States Declaration of Independence
112:of the United States Supreme Court, and
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139:under commission from the Presbyterian
67:at Faggs Manor Academy, in what is now
47:began his first attempt to draft the
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368:Irish emigrants to the United States
363:Christian clergy from County Armagh
164:Washington & Jefferson College
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378:18th-century American politicians
338:American Presbyterian ministers
388:Politicians from County Armagh
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25:James Finley (disambiguation)
383:18th-century American clergy
145:Fayette County, Pennsylvania
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82:, (fifth president of the
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293:- Accessed: April 9, 2007
281:- Accessed: April 9, 2007
143:. In 1772 he traveled to
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108:, who became the third
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84:College of New Jersey
21:James Finley (author)
88:Princeton University
41:Western Pennsylvania
200:Committee of Safety
171:American Revolution
137:Allegheny Mountains
16:American politician
373:Log College alumni
152:Youghiogheny River
118:Postmaster General
196:Benjamin Franklin
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263:Clan Finley
92:Log College
332:Categories
222:References
160:Canonsburg
55:Early life
198:and the
183:Virginia
124:Ministry
265:, RADM
241:50-51
210:Death
192:NARA
185:and
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