John McMillan (pastor)

John McMillan
McMillan in the 1820s
Born	November 11, 1752 Fagg's Manor, Pennsylvania
Died	November 16, 1833(1833-11-16) (aged 81) Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
Spouse(s)	Catherine (Brown) McMillan
Church	Presbyterian

John McMillan (1752–1833) was a prominent Presbyterian minister and missionary in Western Pennsylvania when that area was part of the American Frontier. He founded the first school west of the Allegheny Mountains, which is now known as John McMillan's Log School. He is one of the founders of Washington & Jefferson College

McMillan was born on November 11, 1752 in Fagg's Manor, Chester County, Pennsylvania. His Scots-Irish parents (William McMillan & Margaret Rea) arrived in Chester County from County Antrim, Ireland in 1742. McMillan attended Blair's grammar aschool in Fagg's Manor and studied theology at Robert Smith's Pequea Academy He entered Princeton at 18 and graduated in 1772. It was Princeton that he declared "that the divine law was not only holy and just but that it was also good and that conformity to it would make me happy."

He was licensed to at age 22 in East Nottingham, Pennsylvania under the Presbytery of Newcastle. He traveled west on foot in 1775, preaching along the way. On 1776 August 6 he married Catherine Brown of Chester County (daughter of William Brown). He founded Pigeon Creek Church, where he served for 19 years, Chartiers Church, where he served for 47 years and 8 years with Matthew Brown.

Amid the Revolutionary War and attacks from local Indians, McMillan moved his wife and their first child to a cabin on Shanon Run, the east branch of Chartiers Creek in Washington County, Pennsylvania. McMillan began teaching Greek and Latin to students in his log cabin, eventually graduating several prominent frontier ministers, including James McGready, William Swann, Samuel Porter, and Thomas Marquis. The precise date of the beginning of instruction is unknown.