John Neff and his family probably heard the gospel in the West Nantmeal Seminary in what came to be called Mormon Hollow. West Nantmeal Seminary was built by Edward Hunter, a fairly well off man who lived in West Nantmeal. The building that was used by the town for a school, worship services and social hall had burned down. Because he had land, and perhaps the old building had been on his land, Edward Hunter was asked to build a new one. Edward said he would build the building on the condition that preachers of all denominations would be welcome to preach there or he would not allow anyone to use it. When the Mormon Elders came to the village and asked to preach in the building, they were turned away. Edward Hunter reminded the village of the deal , did they want to give up the seminary for school and church services? They agreed to allow the Mormons to preach. Edward became the protector of the elders and later entertained Joseph Smith in his home. Edward join the church and immigrated to Salt Lake. He is the ancestor of Howard W Hunter, 14th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.In this picture you can just see the bell tower on top of the building. We were unable to get close enough to see and get a picture of the sign which identifies this as the West Nantmeal Seminary.
L and J in front of the Seminary.
Looking across Little Conestoga Road to the Seminary Road sign.
Just to the left of the gate to the Seminary are 2 signs. This one put up by the Ogden Chapter of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers tells of Edward Hunter and Mormon Hollow's influence on the growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This sign is next to it, put up by the West Nantmeal Presbyterian Church again thanking Edward Hunter for allowing their members to meet here for many years. The church is now in a new building and called the Fairview Presbyterian Church.
Here we see B and D and their children in front of the West Nantmeal Seminary built by Edward Hunter.To find the seminary look for Seminary Road, Glenmoore, PA or 996 Little Conestogo Road, Glenmoore, PA. The building is across the Little Conestoga Road and just south of Seminary Road.
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2 comments:
Very interesting reading, however, I followed this link while researching my own family tree and ended up at this site. Will someone please tell me how Susannah Gazey Beers fits into all this? Our family research shows this exact woman to be my g,g,g,g,g,g grandmother. Two of her sons with William Beers are buried in Thatcher, Arizona, Robert Henry Beers and Franklin Beers! I look forward to knowing and I am curious if there are any pictures of these people existing?!?!
Read the article entitled 2 John Neffs. Susannah Gazey Beers Neff was the wife of the other John Neff. There is a little information about her there.
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