White Valley church in Export can be traced back to area's first settlers

May 20—Scott Duff of Export remembers being a kid and catching salamanders in a stream not far from where the White Valley church stands in the borough, on Roosevelt Avenue.

In the cemetery on the church grounds, there are two thin, well-worn headstones.

"If you come out here in the morning, when the sunlight hits them at the right angle, you can read them very well," Duff said.

Inscribed on the headstones are the names of Duff's great-great-great-great-grandparents, John and Anna McIlduff, Scots-Irish immigrants from Belfast who arrived on North American shores in the late 1770s. John fought in the Revolutionary War as a member of the Pvt. Thomas Morton Co. Frontier Rangers, a citizen militia.

The McIlDuffs — who dropped the "McIl-" part of the name in later generations — were among a group of immigrants who took possession of land warrants following a 1768 treaty with the Iroquois Native American tribe. They struck out to settle in the area that would come to be known as Franklin Township. They were families with familiar names like Rugh, Hays, Barlein ("Berlin"), Henke ("Hankey"), Hobaugh, Rubricht ("Rubright"), Haymaker and Lauffer.

There are several versions of how the White Valley church came to exist. The following story is from multiple sources, including John W. Jordan's 1906 "The History of Westmoreland County," an Emmanuel Lutheran Church account of its history, as well as a 1954 Jeannette News-Dispatch article that recounts the incident, noting that it is "partially traditional."

On July 15, 1782, John McIlduff set out for the county courthouse, not knowing that Native Americans had attacked and burned Hanna's Town two days before. After a neighbor along the way informed McIlduff that he'd seen signs of Native Americans in the woods, one shot at McIlduff as he traveled the military road leading from Pittsburgh to Fort Ligonier. The shot missed, and a group of soldiers who had fled Hanna's Town and were pursuing Native American raiders shot back. McIlduff joined the group and turned back to head swiftly home, where he'd left his wife and son.

When he arrived home, McIlduff found his house had also been set on fire. But he discovered that his wife and son had hidden in the woods, where they stayed until they saw him.

According to the News-Dispatch history, McIlduff decided that, in exchange for God allowing his family to survive, he would donate land from his estate to be used for worship services.

According to officials at the present-day Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Murrysville, the first services were conducted by laymen, with congregants traveling from as far as 10 miles to attend. The first official house of worship was a tent. In 1831 a log building was constructed and shared by both the German Lutheran and German Reformed congregations. Thomas Mellon, eventual founder of Mellon Bank, is said to have attended worship services on the grounds.

In 1856, a brick building was constructed near the site, which today is Emmanuel Reformed United Church of Christ on Hills Church Road. The Emmanuel Lutheran congregation moved to a separate clapboard building on Roosevelt Avenue in 1884.

That building still stands today in Export, having also served as the original Murrysville Christian Concern thrift shop from the 1970s until 1995. The thrift shop was started by another Duff family member, Howard Duff, along with Earl Patty. It was funded through burial fees from a pet cemetery that is still part of the property.

The building was deeded to Export in 2001, a donation from Emmanuel Lutheran Church, and today is the home base for the Export Historical Society.

"It was either donate it to the borough or tear it down," Scott Duff said.

Today it stands as the legacy of one of the original immigrant families to settle in the area alongside the cemetery, where two of every three headstones bear the Duff surname.

"It's fantastic that we still have it," Export Councilwoman Melanie Litz said.

Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick by email at pvarine@triblive.com or via Twitter .