Religious Figure. John Elder gained recognition as the "Fighting Pastor" during colonial America. While in Scotland, he received a classical education at the University of Edinburgh, which was followed by studying divinity and receiving a license to preach the gospel in 1732. As a Scottish-born immigrant, he came to the British Colonies of America in about 1735, settling in western Pennsylvania. His first church assignment was the pulpit at New Castle, followed by a call to Donegal. In 1738, he accepted the call of the Paxtang Presbyterian congregation, where his fame was gained. The Paxtang Presbyterian was located in what is in the 21st-century Dauphin County, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Pastor Elder's early years of ministry were not easy as a reformation, "The First Great Awakening," was sweeping through the Presbyterian Church. Wanting to continue in the "old way" and not a man to back down from anything, he threw himself into the furor preaching against this great revival, which earned him enemies within the church. Charges of preaching false doctrine were filed against him with the Presbytery, but that governing body cleared him, yet problems within the church continued to trouble him for many years. Besides the problems with the church, the French and Indian War had started. On July 11, 1762, the Elder was promoted to the "dignity of Colonel" by Pennsylvania Provincial authorities. His command consisted of all the forts and blockhouses from Easton to the Susquehanna River. The Paxtang congregation formed their own military company for the defense of the frontier, mainly against the Lenape and Shawnee Indigenous Indians. After John Elder was elected captain of this company, the legend of the fighting Parson Elder was born. Parson Elder, as he was now known, was a strict disciplinarian. His mounted 110 rangers, who were called the "Paxtang Boys," were a force to be reckoned with on the Pennsylvania frontier in the spring of 1763 and became known for their aggression. For two years, every adult male who attended Paxtang Church carried a rifle with him to services, including the Parson Elder, who propped his rifle beside him in the pulpit, keeping the weapon close at hand. In the late summer of 1763, there were many settlers killed by Indians around the Paxtang area, and negative feelings against any Indigenous Indians were running high. The territory belonging to the Indigenous Indians was being invaded by settlers. A group of friendly Conestoga Indians arrived in Lancaster seeking protection from roving bands of rangers bent on revenge. The sheriff of Lancaster County, not knowing what to do with these unwanted guests, clapped them into the Lancaster County jail. Word of Indians being housed in the jail was received at Paxtang, and a body of Paxtang Boys went to Lancaster. On December 14, 1763, the jail was stormed by the Paxtang Boys, and all of the unfortunate defenseless Indians were slaughtered and scalped. History calls this the "Conestoga Massacre," and depending on the source, there were six to twenty victims in the jail. Although it was never formally proven that Parson Elder had any prior knowledge that these murders were to be committed, a local legend claims that he did. When he attempted to deviate his rangers from their sinful plot, his men stated that he would be expected to accompany them on this raid, and in an attempt to coerce or blackmail him, they stated that his fine horse would be killed if he did not comply. The Paxtang Boys used Bible verses to justify their actions, referring to the entire Indigenous population as the hated "Canaanites". Although a reward was issued for information, none of the Paxton Boys were ever held accountable for the Conestoga Massacre, and the Parson, along with the sympathetic community, never named names of those responsible for the act. Loosely based on the Paxtang Boys, author Conrad Richter published the book "The Light in the Forest" in 1953, which was adapted into a 1958 Walt Disney film of the same name, starring James MacArthur, Carol Lindely, and Fess Parker. The "Conestoga Massacre" brought the Elder at odds with the strong peace-loving Quaker influence in Pennsylvania, and he was relieved of his command by the governor of the Province. In 1768, Parson Elder left Paxtang to accept an assignment at the Second Philadelphia Presbytery. After a few years, he accepted the pulpit at Carlisle to be closer to his Paxtang holdings, but in a few years, he left serving the church to become a farmer. At the dawn of the American Revolutionary War, British troops were overrunning New Jersey and, maybe soon, Pennsylvania. On a Sunday morning, Parson Elder came as usual at Paxtang Church, but this time, he ascended to the pulpit giving a call for patriotism among the men and forcing them to the defense of liberty. The fire of patriotism that Parson Elder spoke about ran strong, and in less than 30 minutes, a company of militia was formed with his eldest son Robert being chosen as captain and with the men departing the next day for active service. Once again Elder was commissioned as a colonel, this time by the Continental Congress, but he only served a short time as his health was declining with aging. He resigned his commission when the Paxtang Church summoned him to the pulpit for the second time. After taking charge of the church on April 12, 1776, he remained untill his death on July 17, 1792. According to the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, his proof of service was recorded in the Pennsylvania Archives 3rd service, Volume 17, on page 567, and he paid taxes in 1779. He married twice: Mary Baker and Mary Simpson. He had four children with his first wife and 11 children by his second wife, of whom ten survived to adulthood.