IMPORTANT NOTE: While basic page layout and pagination has been retained, this is not an exact reproduction of Funkhouser’s book.  Typos and have been corrected, names have been adjusted to be internally consistent, and in some situations a more uniform and clearer format has been employed.  The few significant changes/additions made are denoted in otherwise uncalled-for bold face type.

 

 

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

 

OF THE

 

UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST

 

VIRGINIA CONFERENCE

 

BY

 

REV. A. P. FUNKHOUSER A. M., D. D.

[SEE NOTE]

 

COMPILED BY

OREN F. MORTON, B. Lit.

 

Author of "Under the Cottonwoods." "Winning or Losing?" "Land

Of the Laurel," "A Practical History of Music." "The Story of

Daniel Boone," "A History of Preston County, W. Va.," "A

History of Pendleton County, W. Va.," "A History of

Highland County, W. Va.," "A History of Rock-

bridge County," "Annals of

Bath County, Va."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Funkhouser died before the work was completed. The

material gathered and the language used by the Author

have been carefully preserved by the Compiler.

 

 

 

The Virginia Conference ordered the publication of this

History and appointed Drs. A. S. Hammock, W. F. Gruver,

J. H. Brunk, Rev. J. N. Fries, Mr. W. I. Good and J. K.

Ruebush as a committee on publication.

 

We present to the Church this History which we re-

gard as of the greatest value to the church, not only of

to-day but of the future.

 

 


 

Copyright, 1921

By RUEBUSH-KIEFFER COMPANY

Dayton, Virginia

 


 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

CHAPTER

I     Apostolic Christianity before Otterbein

II    William Otterbein and the German Reformed Church

III   Martin Boehm and the Mennonites

IV    German Immigration in the Eighteenth Century

V     The Evangelical Movement among the German Immigrants

VI    Early Years of the Church

VII   Planting the Church in Virginia

VIII Extracts from Newcomer's Journal

IX    The Early Preachers

X     Reminiscences of Some of the Early Preachers

XI    The Transition from German to English

XII   The Church in the War of 1861

XIII The Church in Recent Times

XIV   Movements toward Union with Other Churches

XV    Concerning Slavery and Intoxicants

XVI   Concerning Secret Societies

XVII List of Preachers: Chronological

XVIII List of Preachers: Alphabetical

XIX   Bishops, Missionaries, and Others

XX    Biographical Sketches of Ministers

XXI   Early Deaths among Ministers

XXII Church Dedications

XXIII Sketch of A. P. Funkhouser

XXIV The Church and Education

XV    The Virginia Conference School

XXVI A Digest of the Conference Minutes

 


 

 

EDITOR'S FOREWORD

 

The late A. P. Funkhouser projected a book which, in

treating of the Virginia Conference of the United Brethren

Church, should "include the origin, growth, and develop-

ment of the Church within its bounds, and its distinctive

features, together with portraits and brief biographies of

many of its ministers." For this purpose he gathered a

large and valuable store of material, but did not prepare

a manuscript copy of the projected work. In early May

of the present year, the undersigned was asked by the

owner and custodians of the collection to supply this lack.

In carrying out the commission to compile a manuscript,

the editor has adhered as closely as practicable to the

topical plan found among the papers mentioned. He has

also sought to put himself in the place of the expectant

author. But in constructing several of the chapters made

necessary by the topical plan aforesaid, the collection

afforded little aid. Dr. Funkhouser could undoubtedly

have written these chapters without feeling much need for

documents and other authorities. On the other hand, the

editor had never met Dr. Funkhouser, is not himself of the

United Brethren, and was not previously familiar with the

rise and development of the United Brethren Church. He

was therefore compelled to make large use of source

material not found in the collection. This is why chapters

I to VII inclusive, IX, XI to XVI inclusive, and XXIV and

XXV are, in the main, of his own authorship. In the quoted

paragraphs, without reference as to source, that occur in

some of these chapters, he has followed the phraseology

of Dr. Funkhouser. It is hardly necessary to add that no

writer can take up an outline formulated by another crafts-

man, and pursue it with the same freedom as is possible to

the projector. Rut since the undertaking had to be finished

 


 

by some one else, it is hoped that the present volume will,

in at least a fair measure, fulfill the promise implied in the

title. The books and pamphlets not found in the collection,

and consulted by the editor, are these: "History of the

Church of the United Brethren in Christ," by John Law-

rence; "Our Bishops," by H. A. Thompson; "Our Heroes;

or United Brethren Home Missionaries," by W. M. Weekley

and H. H. Fout; "Landmark History of the United Brethren

Church," by D. Eberly, I. H. Albright, and C. I. B. Brane;

"The German and Swiss Settlements of Colonial Pennsyl-

vania," by Oscar Kuhns; "The German Element in the

Shenandoah Valley," by J. W. Wayland; "History of Rock-

ingham County, Virginia," by J. W. Wayland; "Origin,

Doctrine, Constitution, and Discipline of the United Breth-

ren in Christ (1841);" "Life of J. J. Glossbrenner," by A.

W. Drury; "Life of William Otterbein," by A. W. Drury;

"Life of David Edwards," by Lewis Davis; "Life and Career

of James W. Hott," by M. B. Drury; "Life and Journal of

Christian Newcomer," edited by John Hildt; "Michael

Schlatter Memorial Addresses," by J. E. Boiler and others;

"Autobiography of Peter Cartwright," edited by W. P.

Strickland; "History of the Rise and Progress of the Bap-

tists in Virginia," by B. B. Semple; "Life of Jacob Bachtel,"

by Z. Warner; the published Minutes of the Conference,

1800-1818, and 1880-1920.

 

The editor is much indebted to Mr. Joseph K. Ruebush

for the helpful interest shown in the undertaking, partic-

ularly in furnishing authorities to supplement the data

gathered by Dr. Funkhouser; also to the Bev. J. E. Hott

for varied and valuable oral information.

 

OBEN F. MOBTOX.

Dayton, Virginia, August 29, 1919.

 

 


1

CHAPTER I

APOSTOLIC CHBISTIANITY BEFORE OTTERBEIN

 

The Apostolic Church was the Christian organization

that existed from the days of the apostles to the so-called

conversion of the Roman emperor Constantine, a period

of more than three centuries. There is excellent reason

for the belief that it was made up only of converted men

and women, and that its government and worship were

very simple. There was no liturgy, neither were there any

stately formalities, or any high-sounding ecclesiastical

titles. Whoever believed the Gospel with the heart and

made public confession was baptized and received into

the church. He was then one of the brethren, and this

term was applied without any discrimination as to wealth

or rank. The worship consisted in reading from the

Scriptures, in sermons and exhortations, in the singing of

spiritual songs, in the relations of Christian experience,

and in a simple celebration of the ordinances established

by Christ.

 

During these three centuries the primitive Christian

Church was a positive power and irresistible force. It

endured persistent and bloody persecution, and yet it made

no compromise with evil. The Christian religion was

preached almost everywhere, and was rapidly advancing

to a general conquest of the world, although this was tak-

ing place without recourse to physical might.

 

In the fourth century of the Christian era, the Roman

empire was still by far the most dominant political power

on earth. The emperor Constantine accepted Christianity

as a state religion. This alleged conversion is one of the

greatest frauds in all human history. Political expediency

was undoubtedly the commanding motive of this monarch.

The Christian Church now became popular and soon was

growing wealthy. So long as paganism was in control,

 


 

2 UNITED BRETHREN

 

the grandees sneered at the Christians. They now created

high positions in the Church for the gratification of their

pride and power. Preaching ceased, new and strange

doctrines came into vogue, while a petrified ceremonial,

elaborate yet empty, took the place of the primitive wor-

ship. The Church, as it was now constituted, was made

superior to the Bible, and to the mass of the people the

latter became an unknown book. This church of the

Middle Ages was a veneered paganism. It made itself a

supreme political power, and as such it was nothing less

than the Roman empire in a new form. Yet even with

the help of popes and kings, this political church ceased

to expand and began to retreat. For some time it was in

great danger of being overthrown by Mohammedanism.

 

This dark age in the history of the Christian Church

lasted many centuries. Yet all this while, there were bands

of Christians, sometimes numerous, who maintained the

doctrine, discipline, and spirit of the Apostolic Church.

Their Christianity was a living protest against the cor-

ruption of the papal system, which was willing to tolerate

no other type than its own. These apostolic Christians

consequently drew upon themselves the wrath of the

papacy, which was even worse than that of paganism.

 

The best known of the early Protestants are the

Waldensees of the southeast of France. They have had

a continuous history for fifteen centuries, and have con-

gregations in America.

 

Peter Waldo, a merchant of France, translated the

Gospels into French, this being the first translation of any

part of the Bible into a modern tongue. Until now, and

indeed for several more centuries, the papal church used

only a Latin version, which could be understood only by

scholars. It resisted any effort to place the Bible in the

hands of the people generally.

 

About the year 1400 it is believed there were no fewer

than 800,000 of the Waldensees. They were most numer-

ous in the south of France and the north of Italy, but had

large congregations in what was until a year ago the

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 3

 

Austrian Empire. Their consistency was such as to force

these words of praise from a papal officer: "They are

orderly and modest in their behavior. They avoid all

appearance of pride in dress. They neither indulge in

finery of attire, nor are they remarkable for being mean

and ragged. They get their living by manual industry.

They are not anxious about amassing riches, but content

themselves with the necessaries of life. Even when they

work they either learn or teach."

 

Peter Waldo died in Bohemia in 1180. That country

became a stronghold of the early Protestants, and in 1350

it contained 200 of their churches. In the fourteenth cen-

tury their greatest religious teacher was John Hus, who

by means of the basest treachery was burned at the stake

by a papal council. This deed of infamy led to civil war

in Bohemia, but the Hussite commander-in-chief defeated

every army sent against him. After his death, however,

the papal party succeeded by intrigue and persistent mas-

sacre in very nearly uprooting the Hussite church. But

in 1457 the scattered remnants organized a society, giving

it the name of Unitas Fratrum, this Latin expression mean-

ing a Unity of Brothers, or United Brethren. This name

has ever since been retained. But up to the time of the

movement led by Martin Luther, these Christians were

harried by almost constant persecution. Nevertheless, it

was they who in 1470 published the first printed translation

of the Bible into any European language.

 

In 1474 a delegation of the Brethren was sent out to

see if there were anywhere in Christendom any "congre-

gations free from popish errors, and lived conformably

to the rule of Christ and his apostles, that they might

form a union with them." These men went as far as

Constantinople and Egypt, but could not find what they

were looking for. A deputation traveling in France and

Italy twelve years later found some "upright souls, who

secretly sighed over the prevailing abominations." A synod

of 1489 unanimously resolved that "If it should please

God, in any country, to raise up sincere teachers and re-

 


 

4 UNITED BRETHREN

 

formers in the church, they would make common cause with

them." In conformity therewith, the Brethren sent dele-

gates to Martin Luther, who received them kindly. They

urged the necessity of strict discipline. Luther admitted

that during the time he was a papist his "zeal for religion

made him hate the Brethren and the writing of Hus,"

but could now say that "since the day of the apostle's,

there has existed no church, which, in her doctrine and

rites, has more nearly approximated to the spirit of that

age than the Bohemian Brethren. They far excel us in

the observance of regular discipline, and in this respect

are more deserving of praise than we. Our German people

will not bend under the yoke of discipline."

 

But the religious wars that followed the death of Luther

were very demoralizing. The Brethren were persecuted

by the Lutherans and the Reformed Church as well as by

the Catholics. They were driven from Prussia to Poland,

where in 1627 a new organization was effected under the

title of the Church of the United Brethren. But in the

same year all their property in what is now Czecho-

slovakia was confiscated, and all their churches and schools

closed. The membership was scattered in all directions.

 

These United Brethren agreed in doctrine with the

Waldensees. They had superintendents, but recognized

only one order of ministers as of divine appointment. They

laid greater stress on piety, moral conduct, and knowledge

of the Bible, in persons holding the pastoral office, than

on human learning. The head of every family was

required to send his children regularly to church, to

instruct them at home, and to hold family devotions. Their

churches were unadorned, and the sexes sat apart. There

was vocal but no. instrumental music, and there was no

prescribed form of prayer.

 

In the opinion of the Brethren the Protestant Reforma-

tion accomplished only a part of its mission. They could

not see that the churches that arose from it were molded

according to the apostolic pattern. One formal religion

had been exchanged for another. Few of those who em-

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 5

 

braced the Protestant faith were inwardly enlightened.

There was little discipline. All who conformed to certain

very easy conditions were recognized as members of the

church for life, although they might be notorious for

impiety and immorality. All grades of unbelievers came

to the communion table. Church and state were united.

Men loved their creeds more than they loved God. They

were orthodox, but only in an intellectual sense.

 

In 1722, Christian David led a band of United Brethren

refugees to the estate of Count Zinzendorf, a Lutheran

nobleman of Saxony. David had some time before met

some imprisoned Brethren and their influence led to his

conversion. He decided to join the Lutherans, but finding

among them that any person seeking the salvation of his

soul was exposed to jeers and taunts, he enlisted as a

soldier. After his discharge he preached to such of the

Brethren as he could find. On the Zinzendorf lands the

refugees built the village of Herrnhut in a forest. Since

this time they have been commonly known as Moravians.

Count Zinzendorf was born in 1700. Losing his father

in childhood he was reared by a grandmother, who had a

daily prayer meeting in her home. Such a thing was then

regarded as fanatical. The count was religiously inclined

from his childhood, and Herrnhut grew into a flourishing

village. Its people organized themselves into a religious

society in 1727, in which year there was a great revival,

thousands of people assembling to attend the meetings.

Thus arose the Moravian Church, which has been greatly

distinguished by self-sacrifice and by missionary zeal and

success. As early as 1723 some of their missionaries

visited England and were the inspiration of the remarkable

Wesleyan revival of after years. Much of the spirit of

the Moravians was carried into the Methodist movement,

both Wesley and Whitefield having a very warm feeling

for these people.

 

In 1735 Moravian missionaries reached America, Count

Zinzendorf himself following in 1742. In 1741 Bishop

Spangenburg and others issued a call for any Christians of

 


 

6 UNITED BRETHREN

 

whatsoever name to meet in a convention at Germantown

"to see how near all could come together on fundamental

points." Representatives of all the German sects, and

perhaps others, were present at the meeting on New Year's

day, 1742. The spirit of it was exactly similar to the move-

ment afterward led by Otterbein. The doctrinal spirit of

those taking part in it was Arminian and not Calvinistic.

It was pre-eminently a missionary body.

 

Yet this movement, begun in so promising a way, was

wrecked by the bitter opposition of the Lutheran and

Reformed pastors, who were opposed to the idea of a

church composed only of converted persons. Wherever

the Moravian missionaries went, they found the seeds of

prejudice sown in advance, to embarrass and in some

degree to frustrate their efforts. 

 

This opening chapter of our book may not at a first

glance seem to have a direct bearing on the history of the

United Brethren in Christ. Yet it will show that the older

bodies bearing almost precisely the same name were pre-

cisely the same in spirit, and also that they had brought

down to our modern era the spirit of the Apostolic Church.

 

"The number of enlightened Christians, who, before the

rise of Luther, adhered unswervingly to the doctrine and

discipline of the Church which Christ had established, was

very great; and the unblenching testimony they bore

against popery, the evangelical light they dispersed by their

preaching and their circulation of the Scriptures, and the

remarkable heroism displayed by so many thousands,

while suffering a cruel death, did far more to make the

papal power odious, and to prepare the public mind to

respond to the voice of the reformers, than is generally

supposed."

 

To the above quotation from Lawrence, it may be added

that the very existence of the pre-Reformation Protestants

is an irresistible argument for the correctness of their

views concerning the Apostolic Church. The church as

reorganized by Constantine and his successors has a long

history of bigoted intolerance and savage persecution, and

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 7

 

is mainly responsible for the religious wars that for several

centuries drenched Europe in blood. Yet it is no more

than fair to state that if the church of the Middle Ages

appears in the light of history as an apostate church, the

Catholic Church of to-day is the product of a counter-

reformation within that church, just as the various Pro-

testant churches are the product of the Protestant

Reformation.

 

 


8

 

CHAPTER II

WILLIAM OTTERBEIN AND THE GERMAN

REFORMED CHURCH

 

The Protestant Reformation began two centuries before

the high tide of German emigration to America. In Ger-

many the reformers split at the very outset into two wings,

the Lutheran and the Reformed churches, the latter bear-

ing much the same relation to the former as the Pres-

byterian Church bears to the Church of England. The

stronghold of the Reformed Church was in Switzerland

and the valley of the Rhine, whence it spread into France

and Holland. In the remainder of Germany, except where

the Catholics retained their hold. Protestantism was repre-

sented almost exclusively by the Lutherans. In each of

the petty monarchies of Germany there was a state church,

and it was either Catholic, Lutheran, or Reformed. Not

one of the three looked with any favor on small sects that

made no claims to being supported by the state.

 

Despite the general opinion to the contrary, the Refor-

mation was to a great extent superficial. It had to do

with the intellect rather than the heart. Where the

Catholics lost power, another formal religion was set up

in its place. Consequently the Reformation soon began

to lose its original force and at length stagnated.

 

But as before the Reformation, so it was afterward.

There was still an apostolic element, and it was no longer

confined to the Moravians or the Mennonites.

 

Philip James Spener was an Alsatian and Lutheran

and died in 1705. It is estimated that 40,000 persons were

converted as a result of his extensive preaching. The

"collegia pietatis" that he established were Bible classes,

prayer meetings, and class meetings, all in one. Spencer

said he brought religion from the head to the heart. He

insisted that no one but a pious man had any business

in the pulpit. He also condemned all forms of question-

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 9

 

able amusements. That the clergy, as well as the laity,

of the established churches were enraged at such obvious

truths indicates a very low degree of spirituality. Pietism,

which was the name given to the teachings of Spener,

was the immediate application of Christian teaching to

the heart as well as to the head. Spener and Pietism were

to Germany what Wesley and early Methodism were to

England, and Wesley was greatly influenced by his Ger-

man forerunner.

 

Pietism, by whomsoever professed, was an emotional

form of religion. But by the year 1800 emotionalism had

died out in Germany, although it lived on in America,

especially among the Americans of German descent. It is

also worthy of remark that Spener made no effort to

establish a new sect. All he sought was to infuse a more

apostolic life into the established churches.

 

Philip William Otterbein, otherwise known simply as

William Otterbein, was born June 3, 1726,* at Dillenberg,

a town of about 3,000 inhabitants in the valley of the

Rhine. His father, a minister of the German Reformed

Church, was also principal of the Latin school in his home

town. He died in the prime of life, the oldest of his seven

children being only eighteen years of age. The widow

was left with slender means, but like her husband she

had character, piety, and learning. She had the satisfac-

tion of seeing all her six sons complete a collegiate course

of study. As rapidly as the older ones became qualified

to teach, they assumed a leading share in the support of

the household and helped to educate the younger brothers.

All the sons lived to a ripe age. Three of them became

authors. All of them, like their father, their father's father,

and their own sister's husband, became ministers. We are

sometimes told that the sons of preachers are always bad.

Occasionally they are wayward, like some of the boys

 

*Old Style, and equivalent to June 15 at the present day. The

change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar took place in

England in 1752. The former was then eleven days behind the

correct time. In Germany the change to New Style had previously

taken place.

 


 

10 UNITED BRETHREN

 

from other homes, and when this is the case the fact is

trumpeted about. Far more usually they become men of

substantial qualities.

 

Herborn Academy, the school in which the Otterbeins

were educated, arose while the Protestant Reformation was

in full vigor, and it was under strong religious influences.

It could almost be classed as a university. In its theological

department the tenets of Calvinism were less rigidly upheld

than was the usual custom in Protestant lands. It is due

to this circumstance that William Otterbein became the

primary founder of a church that is Arminian in its

theology.

 

It was a German custom for the graduate, if a candidate

for the ministry, to demonstrate his fitness to teach before

he could receive ordination. He was expected to serve

this apprenticeship by being a "house-teacher" in some

well-to-do family. In accordance with this custom William

Otterbein took up the work of tutoring, but when not quite

twenty-two years of age was made an instructor in the

very school where he had been educated. One year later —

June 13, 1749 — he was ordained to the ministry in the

Reformed church of Dillenburg, which was the only house

to worship in the town. He had already been appointed

vicar — assistant preacher — in a small village near by.

But although now a minister he did not cease to teach.

His ministerial duties required him to preach every Sun-

day, and occasionally on other days, and to hold a prayer

meeting once each week. The prayer meeting was then

rare in Germany. It is still rare, although we hear of the

"Bible hour" among groups of South Germans in whom

the religious feeling is particularly strong. During the

four years of pastoral work in his mother country, Otter-

bein laid great stress on a pure life and an active religious

spirit. This aroused some opposition among the worldly-

minded church-goers, and there was an unsuccessful

attempt to muzzle his speech. His mother said the home

town was too narrow for one like him and that he would

have to become a missionary.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 11

 

The Dutch Reformed and the German Reformed de-

nominations are sister churches. Aside from the more

rigid Calvinism of the former, and the fact that the one

arose in Holland and the other in Germany, there is no

well marked distinction between them. The Dutch

Reformed Church was the first to appear in America for

the simple reason that New York was at first a Dutch

colony and sent emigrants across the Atlantic before any

came from Germany. Holland was then wealthy, while

Germany was poor. The smaller country was therefore

the better able to contribute to the missionary work so

greatly needed at this time in America. In addition to

their direct contributions, the people of Holland created

a fund of $60,000 — fully equal to $500,000 at the date of

this book — the income from which was applied to mis-

sionary activities beyond the Atlantic. It is much to the

credit of the Hollanders in that intolerant age that they

were willing to come to the relief of the sister church.

 

In 1746 Michael Schlatter, a native of Switzerland and

a young man of zeal and enthusiasm, arrived in America.

He came to visit the various settlements, and there organize

societies, secure pastors when possible, baptize children,

administer the Lord's Supper, and prepare church records.

In effect, he was a bishop. After five years he returned

to Holland to make a personal report and ask further

assistance, both in missionaries and money. In carrying

out this errand he came to Herborn, the home of the Otter-

beins, and there secured five helpers, one of whom was

William. The mother did not withhold her consent, even

in the face of the strong probability that she would never

see him again in this life. So he went away with her bless-

ing and arrived at New York July 28, 1752. However, a

bronchial ailment had something to do with his leaving

Germany. It was thought the American climate would

prove beneficial. This seems to have been the result, for

William Otterbein reached a greater age than any of his

brothers, although there was at times a recurrence of the

trouble.

 


 

12 UNITED BRETHREN

 

About one month after reaching America Otterbein was

installed as pastor of the German Reformed Church at

Lancaster, then a thrifty Pennsylvania town of 2,000

inhabitants. In importance this congregation ranked

second among the Reformed churches in the colonies. But

discipline and spirituality were at a low ebb. In 1757 he

asked to be relieved but consented to remain another year

on condition that the rules of order which he drew up

should be adopted. These rules were signed by eighty of

the male members of the church, and were so salutary

that they remained in force till about 1830. That Otterbein

did not toil at Lancaster in vain is further evident in the

fact that this city remains a stronghold of the Reformed

Church and is the seat of one of its foremost collegiate

institutions. Furthermore, the small wooden house of

worship was superseded during his ministry by a massive

stone building, used as such for almost a century.

 

It was during this pastorate that there was a turning-

point in the character and effect of Otterbein's preaching.

 

In the state-supported churches of that age, religion

was viewed as a form of intellectual education. If an

adult had learned the catechism, had been confirmed, and

partook at stated times of the sacrament of the Lord's

Supper, and, if furthermore, his general deportment pre-

sented no loophole for well-aimed criticism, he was con-

sidered to be a model Christian. But such educational

religion, had no spirituality, because it was not founded

on the new birth. The appeal was to the head and not to

the heart. It was all very well, so far as it went, but it

did not go far enough.

 

One morning Otterbein preached with more than his

usual fervor and several of his hearers were deeply moved.

At the close of the sermon one of them came forward to

ask counsel. Yet the minister could only reply that

"advice was scarce with him to-day." He awoke to the

discovery that he had been preaching truths he had studied

m a formal manner, but had not adequately experienced.

Almost at once he went to his closest to pray until he

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 13

 

possessed a more perfect consciousness of personal salva-

tion. This does not necessarily mean that up to this point

he was an unconverted man. It does mean that he was

not satisfied with the ground on which he had been stand-

ing. This explains the answer he gave, many years after-

ward, to a question by Bishop Asbury: "By degrees was

I brought to a knowledge of the truth, while I was at Lan-

caster." From this time forward, Otterbein insisted on a

true spiritual experience as both the privilege and the duty

of every member of any Christian church. It was the be-

ginning of a new and more effective epoch in his ministry.

Hitherto he had used manuscript in his pulpit. Hence-

forward he discarded the practice and preached extempore.

Leaving Lancaster in 1758, Otterbein preached two

years on Tulpehocken Creek, near Reading. He now intro-

duced the week-day evening prayer meeting. To see the

preacher and his flock kneeling at such a time was a novelty

to the people and some of them thought it improper. Even

the pastors of that age sometimes persecuted those who

attended such meetings.

 

The next pastorate was at Frederick, Maryland, and

continued five years. It was very successful, although the

formalists in the congregation chafed un)der his denial

that an observance of conventional worship has power in

itself to save the unconverted man. At one time a majority

decided upon his abrupt dismissal. Finding the church

door locked, the minister went into the burial ground and

preached from a tombstone. Another service was an-

nounced for the same place the following Sunday. But

this time the door was opened. At Frederick, as at Lan-

caster, one result of his efforts was a substantial house of

worship built of stone.

 

The fourth American pastorate was at York, Pennsyl-

vania, and lasted from 1765 to 1774, excepting an absence

of about one year, during which he visited the old home

in Germany. He sailed for Europe in April, 1770, having

now been eighteen years in America. His mother and all

his brothers were still living.

 


 

14 UNITED BRETHREN

 

 

The fifth pastorate, which was not only the last but

the longest, took Otterbein to Baltimore, then a city of

6,000 people. His congregation was small, and did not

acknowledge the authority of the German Reformed

organization. This independent attitude had much to do

with the formation of the United Brethren Church, as will

be explained in a later chapter.

 

Otterbein came to America as a missionary, and carried

the missionary- spirit with him during all his pastorates,

making long journeys in order to reach people who were

without the gospel. His traveling work began while he

was on the Tulpehocken. He visited all the German coun-

ties of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and went up the Valley

of Virginia as far as Strasburg. He was entirely evange-

lical, cared little for creeds, and less for church names.

In early youth he was deeply impressed by the teachings

of the Pietists, who were to Germany what the Wesleyan

societies were to England. To him and those agreeing with

him religion was almost wholly an inner work, personal

and individual, within the soul, and was effective and of

value only when the personal experience was conscious

of the mystic union of the divine spirit with the human,

witnessing the conscious forgiveness of sins, and produc-

ing a peace of mind which the world could not give. Right

living was to follow as a matter of course, but was a neces-

sary product of a right heart.

 

Bishop Otterbein was recognized as one of the scholars

of his age. He was familiar with the Greek and Hebrew

languages, and was so much at home in the Latin that he

sometimes wrote the original draft of his sermons in that

tongue. Asbury speaks of him as "one of the best scholars

and the greatest divines in America." But in the line of

authorship he left no evidence of his learning except what

may be gleaned from a few personal letters and the records

of his church work. His industry found expression in

other lines. As a preacher he was argumentative and

eloquent, and an exceptionally clear expounder of the

Scriptures.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 15

 

Throughout his long life Otterbein enjoyed the affec-

tionate esteem of great numbers of people, both in his own

and other churches. In his last years he was too infirm

to attend the annual conferences. But as "Father Otter-

bein," he continued to be held in deep veneration. His

personal appearance is thus described by Henry Boehm,

a son of his co-laborer: "In person he was tall, being six

feet high, with a noble frame and a commanding appear-

ance. He had a thoughtful, open countenance, full of

benignity, and a dark-bluish eye that was very expressive.

In reading the lessons he used spectacles, which he would

take off and hold in his left hand while speaking. He had

a high forehead, a double chin, with a beautiful dimple in

the center. His locks were gray, his dress parsonic."

Stevens in his "History of the Methodist Episcopal Church,"

makes these observations: "Otterbein was large, and very

commanding in his personal appearance, with a prominent

forehead, upon which the seal of the Lord seemed to be

plainly impressed. His Christian kindness and benevolence

knew no bounds, and all he received, like Wesley, he gave

way in charities."

 

Otterbein's parsonage at Baltimore contained only four

rooms. He was at this time a widower without family.

Anyone who lived with him was required to attend church.

The bishop was sociable and charitable, very regular and

systematic in his habits, and very precise in his costume.

After coming to Baltimore, he gave up wearing a clerical

gown in the pulpit and preached in the attire of a citizen.

He was opposed to church organs, and he did not believe

a Freemason could be a Christian.

 

William Otterbein died at Baltimore, November 17, 1813,

at the age of eighty-seven years, having spent sixty-five

years in the Christian ministry. That the funeral exercises

for the venerable bishop were conducted by ministers of

the Lutheran, Methodist, and Episcopal churches is a

significant witness to the breadth of his sympathies.

 

For several years Otterbein had been too infirm to

travel outside of Baltimore. Only six weeks before his

 


 

16 UNITED BRETHREN

 

death he was assisted from his bed to an easy chair that

he might ordain Christian Newcomer, Joseph Hoffman,

and Frederick Schaeffer, two of whom became bishops.

The certificates of ordination were written in English as

well as in German.

 


 

17

 

CHAPTER III

MARTIN BOEHM AND THE MENNONITES

 

The Mennonite Church was founded in Switzerland in

1522, and very soon it spread into Germany, Holland, and

France. Persecution was prompt to appear, and it is

claimed that in nearly every instance the Mennonite can

trace his ancestry to some forbear who was burned at the

state or tortured. Protestantism was represented in

Switzerland by the Reformed Church, and the churchly

pride which this denomination had inherited from the

mother church, the Roman Catholic, led it to look upon

the Mennonites as contemptible. It persecuted the new

sect as cheerfully as did the Lutherans or the Catholics.

One of the ways of contending with what was deemed a

heresy was to drown the Mennonite offender. This was

looked upon as baptizing him in his own way.

 

Menno Simon, a Catholic priest, espoused the cause of

the harassed people, gave them his name, and added the

principle of non-resistance to their creed. Between 1670

and 1710 large numbers were driven to Austria and Russia

by the Protestants of their home-lands because they re-

fused to have their children baptized. The first to appear

in America were a little party who came in the fall of

1683 at the solicitation of William Penn. Their first meet-

ing-house was built at Germantown in his colony in 1708.

When the war for American independence rose, the Amer-

ican Mennonites had 13 congregations and 15 bishops.

There are now about 60,000 members in the United States.

 

The Mennonite Church came into existence as an effort

to bring back to life the primitive Christian Church, accord-

ing to Menno's conception of it. There are points of re-

semblance between the German Mennonites and the English

Quakers, and this is why William Penn showed them so

much hospitality. Both sects practice simplicity in per-

sonal attire, have no paid ministers, and refuse to make

 


 

18 UNITED BRETHREN

 

formal oaths or to perform military service. It was their

opposition to war that made them particularly obnoxious

to the Swiss. The government of Switzerland ruled that

those of its people who were unwilling to bear arms in

the defense of the state were undeserving of its protec-

tion. They had no theology. "Believe and let believe,"

was their motto. The Mennonites go so far in the direc-

tion of pacifism as to forbid their members from engaging

in personal combat. They are much opposed to the baptism

of infants. They do not countenance secret societies,

neither do they accept civil office or exercise the right of

suffrage. Among their religious practices are the anointing

with oil, the kiss of charity, and the washing of feet. What-

ever may be thought of their views on non-resistance and

on non-participation in civic life, the Mennonites have

always been noted for temperance, pure living, strict

honesty, and conscientious devotion to the observances of

their creed. But the Mennonites of colonial America

allowed the spiritual side of religion to fall into very great

neglect. They drifted into a hidebound formalism, which

made them extremely exact in matters of costume, and to

insist on a precise morality in the affairs of everyday

conduct.

 

Mennonites were among the very earliest settlers in the

Valley of Virginia, yet it was almost a century before they

built any special house of worship. The first was Frissel's,

near Baker's mill, three miles west of Broadway. It is

now called the Brush church and was built in 1822.

Meyer's meeting house, on the Valley Pike, was built about

three years later.

 

From the settlement north of Woodstock the younger

generation pushed up the Valley and occupied the region

about Timberville, Broadway, and Turleytown. From the

thirty families around Coote's store, numbers moved south

and west from Harrisonburg. Here was a district of wood-

land so late as 1780. The previous sparse population of

English and Scotch-Irish cabin-dwellers, each controlling

from 600 to 1,000 acres, lived mainly by hunting and

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 11

 

fishing.

 

About 1825 there was a schism among the Mennonites

of Rockingham county. It came about through the asso-

ciation of Frederick Rhodes, one of their preachers, with

the United Brethren of the congregation at Whitesel's.

About one-half the Mennonite body took offense at the

loud and earnest preaching of Rhodes, and not because of

the doctrines he set forth or of taking an active part in

the meetings of the Brethren. Peter Eby and three other

ministers came from Pennsylvania and restored harmony.

They ruled that Rhodes had not transgressed the gospel.

 

Martin Boehm, son of a Swiss immigrant, was born in

Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, November 30, 1725. His

father, reared as a member of the Reformed Church, fell

under the influence of the Pietists. For this lapse into what

was deemed a heresy, he was denounced by his parents as

well as his pastor, and was sentenced to jail. But he

escaped to France, and in 1715 made his way to America,

where he became a Mennonite, his wife being of the same

faith.

 

The alert intellectuality of the son atoned in a great

degree for his meager educational opportunities. He had

a clear and ready grasp of ideas, and was a fluent speaker

in German, learning also to express himself in English.

His gift of expression caused him to be selected as a

preacher when thirty-three years old. Even then, how-

ever, he was diffident and tongue-tied in his first attempts

to exhort. Like Otterbein he now realized that he had no

gospel message for the people until he had been made

a new man by the power of the Holy Spirit. This radical

change came as an answer to long continued prayer for

light and guidance. Thenceforward he was eloquent and

effective. The necessity of the new birth was the keynote

of his preaching. Some of his Mennonite brethren accepted

the doctrine, while others thought him a fanatic. Never-

theless, he was advanced to the rank of bishop in the

Mennonite Church in 1759.

 

But Otterbein and Boehm were not alone. Certain

 


 

20 UNITED BRETHREN

 

"New Light" preachers from the Valley of Virginia were

presenting the same gospel message to the German-speak-

ing people. The New Lights were the followers of George

Whitefield, an English evangelist who traveled extensively

in America. The Mennonite settlers of the Valley listened

to these disciples with interest. They had no ministers

of their own, neither were they yet organized into societies

They now sent for a minister and Boehm responded to the

call. His missionary labors in Virginia were very helpful

to himself as well as the people. After his return to

Pennsylvania he thought it was no longer his duty to con-

fine his efforts to his own neighborhood. He preached

wherever he felt impelled to Co. As before, some of the

Mennonites listened to his teachings with approval and

some with astonishment. The voice of opposition proved

itself the stronger force. Articles of indictment were drawn

up and Boehm was expelled from the Mennonite com-

munion, yet his Christian character was not questioned,

and he could now preach with more freedom than ever

At length he turned over the care of his farm to his son

so that he might now give his whole time to evangelistic

work. After 1789 his ministerial career is a part of the

history of the United Brethren Church.

 

Bishop Boehm died March 12, 1812, at the advanced

age of eighty-six years. He was hale and strong almost to

the very last, and could ride a horse until his final and very

brief illness. His longevity was inherited by his son

Henry, who preached a sermon in the city of New York

on his one hundredth birthday.  Doctor Drury speaks of

Martin Boehm as "a short, stout man, with a vigorous

constitution an intellectual countenance, and a fine flowing

beard which gave him in his later years a patriarchal

appearance. " Boehm was always plain and simple in

costume, and seems never to have discarded the severely

plain attire of the Mennonites. His estimable personal

qualities and his sincere Christian character made him

deeply revered in the church he helped to found and very

much respected by other denominations.

 


 

21

CHAPTER IV

GERMAN IMMIGRATION IN THE EIGHTEENTH

CENTURY

 

The well informed American knows that the United

States is a nation of 48 states and more than 100,000,000

people. In some particular respects it is outranked, here

by one country and there by another. Yet the substantial

fact remains that in a massing of the fundamental features

of national greatness, the American Republic stands first

in what was styled, until 1914, the sisterhood of nations.

In 1783 it was neither populous nor rich. To-day it is the

wealthiest country on the face of the globe, the richest in

natural resources, and the strongest in physical might.

 

It requires no far-reaching examination of the census

returns to learn that among the Protestant bodies the

Methodists and Baptists are easily in the lead. Next, but

at some distance, follow the Presbyterians, Lutherans,

Episcopalians, Christians, and Congregationalists. The de-

nominations that are still smaller are more numerous, and

it is among these that the one known as the United Breth-

ren in Christ is classified. Yet it must be remembered that

the larger communions, and many of the smaller as well,

are made up of aggregations independent of one another.

The census of 1890 enumerates 141 distinct religious

organizations. Yet not one of the number is supported by

the General government or by the government of any state.

A rapid survey of the America of 1752 will be of much

interest. It was in that year that William Otterbein came to

America after spending nearly four months in crossing

the Atlantic on a sailing vessel.

 

There was not yet any political bond between the thir-

teen colonies that were to become the first members of

the Federal Union. They were still a part of the British

realm and prospectively the most important part. The

million and a half of inhabitants — less than the present

 


 

22 UNITED BRETHREN

 

population of the little state of Maryland — were scattered

a thousand miles along the Atlantic coast. There were

very few indeed who lived more than seventy miles inland

from the very shore itself. Only a few thousands were in

the recently settled country west of the Blue Ridge. Phila-

delphia, Boston, and New York were the largest cities, and

not one of the three was much more populous than Staun-

ton, Va., is now. America was mainly an agricultural land.

There was an active commerce by sea, but no industrial

establishments which now would be considered worthy of

any mention. There were only five colleges, and except

in the New England section there were no free schools. In

the other colonies schooling was looked upon as a private

interest, to be purchased and paid for like a suit of clothes.

America was a new country and in a general sense it was

crude. Yet it was a prosperous land. Furthermore, the

Americans already regarded themselves as a people' dis-

tinct from any other. They had a higher level of intelligence

than was true of England, and they had a higher sense of

civic spirit than the inhabitants of the British Isles. They

were proud of their local institutions, jealous of their

political rights, and were convinced that the future held

much in store for them.

 

But there was no multiplicity of religious denominations

in 1752. Religion was free only in Rhode Island and

Pennsylvania. The first of these colonies was founded by

Baptists and the second by Quakers. Elsewhere the Euro-

pean practice prevailed and there was a state church,

supported by public taxation. To a certain extent all adults

were expected to attend its services. In two of the four

New England colonies the state church was the Congrega-

tional, which under the name of Independent, ranked

as the establishment in England during Cromwell's rule.

In nine of the colonies the Church of England was in

power, the same as in England itself. When the Hollanders

founded New York they introduced their own national

church, the Dutch Reformed, and it is in New York that

this denomination has its chief foothold in America to-day.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 23

 

The Presbyterian was the state church of Scotland, and

the very heavy Scotch-Irish immigration, beginning in

earnest about 1725, gave that sect a very strong following,

particularly all along the inland frontier. The half-century,

1725-1775, witnessed a very large German inflow. In this

way the Lutheran, the state church of the Protestant Ger-

man monarchies, appeared in the Middle Colonies and in

Maryland and Virginia. Nearly all this German element

was from the upper valley of the Rhine, especially Switzer-

land and the Palatinate. And since the German Reformed

Church was well represented in this very region, that de-

nomination also came to America. Still other Germans

were Moravians or were Mennonites of various branches.

The denominations we have named are substantially

all that were represented in America of 1752. They origi-

nated in Europe, and with the exception of the Baptists,

Quakers, Mennonites, and Moravians, they began there

as state churches.

 

Several organizations very strong in America to-day

were then quite unknown. This is conspicuously true of the

Methodist Church, which began as a society within the

Church of England, and did not become an independent

body in America until 1784. It was unknown in 1752 and

had little more than a thousand members in 1774. Alexan-

der Campbell was not yet born, and consequently the

church founded by him was still in the future.

 

It is in place to say something more about established

churches. Two centuries before the birth of Otterbein it

was strictly true that there was but one church in all West-

ern Europe. This church was the Roman Catholic. There

was a small wave of dissent, but it was the customary prac-

tice to hunt down the objector as though he were a wild

beast. If emphatic persuasion would not silence his voice

he was put out of the way as though a positive danger

to society. Toward the middle of the sixteenth century,

Henry VIII broke with Rome and within the borders of

England he took the place of the pope as the head of the

church. For a while there was no other conspicuous point

 


 

24 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Of difference between the Church of Rome and the Church

of England. But within the latter body an influence sprang

up which conformed its theology to the Protestant standard,

while making little alteration in its ritual and its forms

of worship, so far as outward appearance was concerned.

Somewhat the same thing happened in Germany. Under

the lead of Martin Luther a large portion of Northern

Europe threw off all allegiance to Rome, and adopted the

creed on which the Protestant Reformation had rested its

cause. Yet the externals of worship in the Lutheran

Church, as in the Church of England, were much the same

as in the mother church. This is an illustration of the

fact that mankind is far more prone to effect a change

by steps and not by jumps. A large section of the Prot-

estant world did not consider the change radical enough,

and the Calvinistic creed was the result. Thus arose the

Calvinistic churches; the Presbyterian in Scotland, the

Independent in England, the Dutch Reformed in Holland,

the German Reformed in Switzerland and the south of Ger-

many, and the Huguenot, or French Protestant Church, in

France.

 

Before the coming of the Reformation and for many

years afterward, it was generally believed that no country

should permit more than one church organization within

its confines. The church and the civil authority were

viewed as the twin pillars that supported the state.  It was

plain that no state could endure if it were to tolerate any

rival political organization inside of its borders. How,

then, it was argued, could there safely be more than one

standard of religious belief within a state? Religious dis-

sent was viewed with anger and horror, just as anarchy

and bolshevism are viewed in the political world to-day.

But the spirit of that age was more than intolerant. It

was cruel. The religious remonstrant was boycotted, both

socially and religiously. This policy alone  was severe

enough in its practical effect. But if relatively mild

measures did not affect the desired result, the heretic was

burned at the stake, or was skinned and disemboweled in

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 25

 

the hideous belief that his torture in this world meant the

salvation of his soul for the next.

 

The Church of Rome tried to stamp out Protestantism,

root and branch. It nearly succeeded in France and more

fully succeeded in some other regions. In Germany it was

obliged to come to terms. An agreement was reached

whereby each of the petty states into which Germany was

then divided should choose between Catholicism and

Protestantism.

 

Religious toleration was not by any means a first fruit

of the Reformation. The early Protestants were them-

selves intolerant. Freedom of conscience was not recog-

nized until torrents of blood had flowed on the battlefields

of Europe. When brave, stubborn men fought other men

as brave and stubborn as themselves, each party found at

length that the only way out of the difficulty was to agree

to live and let live. It was next found out that unity in

political government and unity in church organization do

not rest on the same base. It was gradually discovered

that the assumed peril to the state in permitting more than

one sect within its borders was a mere creature of the

imagination. Nevertheless, toleration was resisted in

Europe, inch by inch, year by year, and had not become

generally accepted at the time when Otterbein sailed for

America. And even after intolerance had lost the support

of the civil arm of the state, its spirit survived in the form

of animosity between sect and sect. Instead of presenting

a united front against the manifold forces of evil, the

Protestant churches scattered their energies by persistently

firing into each other's ranks. This spirit has been waning

a long while, yet it is a matter of common observation that

it is still a force to be reckoned with.

 

Religious toleration grew out of the Reformation, al-

though the non-Catholic churches persecuted freely and

even severely, burning some of the more prominent offen-

ders at the stake. The Church of Rome went further and

resorted to wholesale massacre. The Huguenots of France

were either murdered or had to get out of their native land

 


 

26 UNITED BRETHREN

 

the easiest way possible. The government of England

worried the Protestant non-conformists as well as the

Catholics.

 

Crime perpetrated in the name of religion was the lead-

ing cause in the peopling of America. Thus were driven

the Puritans to New England, the Quakers to Pennsylvania,

the Catholics to Maryland, and the Presbyterians to the

Middle Colonies.

 

The tragedy of the Thirty Years War, occurring in the

first half of the seven teeth century, shook Germany to its

foundations. Three-fourths of its population perished,

and the country was set back one hundred and fifty years

in its civilization. In this long drawn out contest religious

and political ambitions were interwoven. But war con-

tinued to follow war at short intervals, and the Germans

had a surfeit of strife that lasted until the full development

of militarism since 1860.

 

On the left bank of the Rhine and adjacent to the

frontier of France is the fine region known as the Pala-

tinate. It is one-half the size of New Jersey and is justly

called the garden spot of Germany. The Palatines, as the

inhabitants are called, possess the steadiness, thorough-

ness, and industry that are characteristic of the German

nation. They are good gardeners and are fond of flowers.

John Fiske has remarked that in going from Strasburg

to Rotterdam by way of the Palatinate, "one is perpetually

struck with the general diffusion of intelligence, refine-

ment, strength of character, and personal dignity."

 

One of the later episodes of the intermittent warfare

of which we have just spoken was the devastation of this

fertile province. Three times was it laid waste within

twenty years, the last time — in 1693 — with a ferocity

which recalls the far more horrible doings of the German

armies in Belgium and France in 1914-18. Dwellings were

burned, orchards were cut down, wells were filled up, and

cemeteries were violated. This havoc is justly regarded

as one of the darkest pages in the history of Europe,

although it has been cast into the background by the

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 27

 

diabolic infamies perpetrated during the recent war by the

express command of the German government.

 

The Palatines were almost wholly Protestant at this

time, and they suffered because they were not Catholics.

But although their oppressors had the power to make them

homeless and destitute, they could not make them recant.

William Penn visited the Rhine and addressed the refugees

in their own tongue. He invited them to go to his colony

of Pennsylvania. A few of them migrated as early as 1683,

and founded German town, then six miles from Philadel-

phia, but now a part of that city. One of the emigrants

wrote back that, "what pleases me here is that one can be

peasant, scholar, priest, and nobleman at the same time."

Favorable reports like this were certain to induce further

emigration. After 1702, and particular after 1726, the

German emigration became heavy. It was the Palatinate

that supplied the greater share of the comers from the

valley of the Rhine, in the period, 1725-1775. A smaller

share came from Switzerland. This little country did not

suffer ill the Thirty Year's war and remained prosperous.

But Switzerland was feudalistic at that time and there was

little real freedom for the mass of the inhabitants. The

Swiss emigrated to better their condition, the Palatines to

escape the tyranny and corruption of their new government.

 

The remaining portion of the German immigration to

America was chiefly from Wurtemburg. Thus it will be

seen that this German influx was almost exclusively from

the upper part of the valley of the Rhine. Except for the

few Moravians from Saxony, the north of Germany had

no hand in the movement. The South Germans differ from

the Prussians, who are not true Germans, but Germanized

Slavs. Yet neither are the people of the upper Rhine typical

Germans. The black hair and dark complexion they so

frequently exhibit are due to a very extensive blend with

an earlier and brunette population. This helps to explain

why the Alsatians, though speaking a dialect of German,

are so thoroughly French in sentiment.

 

When the Palatines began coming, the only settled por-

 


 

28 UNITED BRETHREN

 

tion of Pennsylvania was the southeast corner. Here were

the English Quakers, a sprinkling of Swedes, and the clus-

ter of earlier comers at Germantown. The Scotch-Irish

were also pouring in. When it came to a "showdown,"

there was no very cordial welcome for the deluge of

strangers that bade fair to submerge the population al-

ready on the ground. The Scotch-Irish spoke English but

were not meek nor easy to get along with. The Germans

did not speak English, and some of their customs were un-

familiar. (Nevertheless, they were from the industrial

classes of Germany.) They were intelligent, moral, self-

sacrificing, and most of them were religiously inclined.

"No people in America were so subject to religious excite-

ment as the Germans of the eighteenth century." They

became so numerous in the colony that Benjamin Franklin

began the publication of a German newspaper in 1734.

Certain restrictive laws were enacted by the provincial

government. One of these required all German immigrants

to swear allegiance to the British government as a condi-

tion of their admission to the province. The records kept

as a result of this act give the name of the ship, the port

from which it sailed, the date of its arrival, and the names

of its passengers. These records are therefore of much

genealogic interest.

 

Entire counties of Pennsylvania, such as Lancaster,

York, Berks, Bucks, and Montgomery, were occupied al-

most wholly by these German immigrants. The wave

overflowed into the counties of Frederick and Washington

in Maryland.

 

In 1727 began the peopling of "New Virginia," which

name was then applied to the section of Virginia between

the Blue Ridge and the Alleghenies. Along and near the

Potomac this district was settled mainly by English and

Scotch-Irish pioneers. But southward from Winchester,

nearly to the hue between Rockingham and Augusta, the

German element was much in the lead. Augusta was

founded by the Scotch-Irish and had at first almost no Ger-

mans at all. Of the two classes the Scotch-Irish were the

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 29

 

more venturesome, although the Germans liked plenty of

elbow room on behalf of their descendants. So the former

exhibited a strong propensity to sell out and get nearer,

ever nearer, to the inland frontier. Their places were

often taken by the Germans. By the operation of this

tendency, the German blood in varying but generally large

proportions, is now found throughout the great length of

the Valley of Virginia.

 

Nearly all the German settlers arrived by way of

Pennsylvania. A small number came across the Blue Ridge

from the colony on the upper Rapidan founded by Gover-

nor Spottswood about 1710.

 

In 1775, one-third of the 300,000 inhabitants of Pennsyl-

vania were of German birth or parentage. So far as they

adhered to any church, they were of the German Reformed,

Lutheran, and Mennonite faiths, the strength of the three

bodies being in the order of their mention. As with all

the border communities of that day there was much lapsing

with respect to religious conduct. Many of the settlements

were without pastors, houses of worship, or organized

societies. There was much laxity in manners and morals,

and consequently a great need of missionary effort. The

German pastors were so few that they could seldom visit

a frontier neighborhood oftener than once or twice a year.

 

In the early spring of 1748, Gottschalk, a Moravian mis-

sionary, speaks thus of the Massanutten settlement, situ-

ated on the South Branch of Shenandoah river just above

the Luray valley: "Many Germans live there. Most of them

are Mennisten (Mennonites), who are in a bad condition.

Nearly all religious earnestness and zeal is extinguished

among them. Besides them, a few church people live

there, partly Lutheran, partly Reformed." Gottschalk was

much hindered in his efforts by the opposition of the resi-

dent Lutheran pastor, and the prejudice aroused by stories

circulated against the Moravians. In the fall of the same

year two missionaries of this sect were journeying up the

valley of the South Fork in what is now Pendleton county.

They appointed a preaching service in the house of a Ger-

 


 

30 UNITED BRETHREN

 

man living a few miles above where Brandywine now

stands. The congregation was made up almost wholly of

women and children. The men of the settlement were

hunting bear in Shenandoah Mountain. The valley had

been settled only about three years, and the style of living

is described in the journal of these missionaries as primitive

in the extreme. They did not hesitate to call it a near

approach to savagery. By a much more recent writer it

is thus described:

 

"The food, clothing, furniture and mode of life among

the early German settlers were very plain and simple. They

drank nothing but water and milk (sometimes garden tea),

except Sunday morning, when they always had coffee.

Meat was seldom eaten, and in their time it was considered

something quite extra to have meat on the table. At din-

ner time only, did they have meat, and then the father

would cut it in small pieces, give to each one of the family

his allotted share, and with that they had to be satisfied.

During the greater part of the year they had hot mush and

cold milk for supper, and cold mush and warm milk for

breakfast. It would have been considered extravagant to

have the mush fried in fat. Soup, of different kinds, was

much used. The plates from which they ate were made

of pewter, and the cups from which they drank were

earthen mugs. They used no table cloths. The father sat

at one end of the table; the mother at the other. The chil-

dren stood, sometimes sat, along each side of the table and

ate their meal in silence: there was little talking at the

table. Each one ate what was placed before him without

murmuring. A blessing was asked before every meal by

the father or mother. As soon as the children were old

enough to understand the meaning, they were taught short

prayers which they would pray in regular order, each one

his particular and distinct prayer, commencing with the

oldest and ending with the youngest. No carpets graced

the floor but every Saturday it was scoured clean and white

with sand and water. The furniture was as simple as the

fare. On each side of the hearth a square block was made

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 31

 

stationary for a seat. Benches and home-made chairs with

seats plaited with split hickory were used. Several beds

and a few chests made up the principal part of the furni-

ture. They lived in this plain and simple way but they

were comfortable, and what is better still, they were con-

tented."

 

By what has been set forth in the above paragraphs

it is possible to gain a close idea of social and religious

conditions in 1752 in the region now covered by the Vir-

ginia Conference of the United Brethren Church. It was

a very new country. It was the American West of 1752

in just as real a sense as the line of the middle Missouri

was the American West of 1860. In each instance there

was much recklessness among the frontiersmen, and there

was a falling away from the standard of active religious

life in the homeland.

 

In closing this chapter our attention is called to the

circumstance that, with the one exception of the Quakers,

all the religious pacifists in colonial America were Ger-

mans. Was not the growth of these German sects pro-

foundly aided by the social turmoil growing out of the

religious wars of the seventeenth century? And did not

this very turmoil engender among those who suffered from

it a deep-seated antipathy to warfare? Perhaps the tenet

of non-resistance, adopted by several of the German sects,

was primarily a protest against efforts to advance the cause

of religion by the use of military power. It was but a step

further to object to political as well as religious wars.

 


 

32

CHAPTER V

THE EVANGELICAL MOVEMENT AMONG THE

GERMAN IMMIGRANTS

 

In our last chapter we spoke of a lack of religious

teaching among the German settlers along the inland

frontier. A similar fact was true of the Scotch-Irish, who

were the dominant element on the same border. In the

older communities, on and near the Atlantic seaboard, the

religious privileges were as good as were known anywhere

in that century. But there was a state church in eleven

of the thirteen colonies, its houses of worship and its par-

sonages were paid for out of public taxation, and its minis-

ters were, either in part or altogether, supported in the

same manner. Where the Church of England prevailed,

the rector was provided with a farm, and this was called

a glebe. The rectors were selected by the higher authorities

of the church, and not by the congregations to whom they

ministered.

 

There was an unfortunate side of the influence of a

church supported by the civil government and by public

taxation. There was an almost irresistible drift to an

accepted standard of merely formal piety, such as is spoken

of in our sketch of William Otterbein. It was often the

case that the minister was as worldly-minded as the aver-

age man of the community. If under such circumstances

there was any spiritual life in a congregation, it was in

spite of the system and not as a consequence of it. The

ministers of the Presbyterian, Congregational, and Re-

formed churches, all which were kindred denominations,

had a very real interest in the well-being of the people

under their care. But in their preaching there was too

little of the reformatory and too much of the dogmatic

and argumentative. And the prevalence in these com-

munions of very long pastorates, even of fifty and sixty

years, led to routine methods, spiritual sluggishness, and

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 33

 

churchly dry-rot. In a word, formalism in religion was

everywhere the rule and not the exception. The times

were very much in need of a loosening up of the parched

surface. In Germany, something was being dene in this

direction by the Moravians and the Pietists; in England,

by the Wesleys, whose methods were substantially the same

as those of Spener, the founder of the Pietists; in America,

by Wesleyan missionaries, by the New Lights, and at a

later period by the founders of the Cumberland Presby-

terian Church.

 

In a political sense the American Revolution was a good,

but from another point of view it was an evil. It inter-

rupted the peaceful trend of the evangelistic movement.

Partly through the influence of foreigners, the free thought

then so rampant in Europe was scattered broadcast on the

American soil. Religion was discredited by the formalism

so often seen among the church people. In the popular

estimation it was looked upon as a lifeless garment which

might as well be thrown aside. Thus was prepared a con-

genial field for the nurture of infidelity and near-infidelity.

Experimental religion was deemed weak and silly. Family

worship was thought to be affectation, and many of the

ministers themselves gloried in letting it alone. Among

the students at Yale College in 1795 were only about five

members of any church. William and Mary, which was

the only college in Virginia, was a hotbed of unbelief.

Bishop Meade of the Episcopal Church said in 1810 that

nearly every educated young Virginian was a skeptic. The

same fact was generally true of the professional men in all

the states. In short, the Christian religion was held in

scorn and it was the common opinion that it was outworn

and would soon pass out of existence. Gross drunkenness

was not only an everyday occurrence, but it was almost as

common among ministers and other church members as

among people in general.

 

The portrait of the times that has been drawn in the

last paragraph is startling. And yet its accuracy is attested

by the best of evidence. After 1825 there was a marked

 


 

34 UNITED BRETHREN

 

improvement with respect to religion and temperance, but

this only emphasizes the fact that during the long period

between 1750 and 1825 — the lifetime of an elderly per-

son — America was sadly in need of evangelical instruction.

 

As in the instances of Otterbein and Boehm, there were

a few evangelistic reformers in all the churches. Finding

themselves lonesome in the stifling atmosphere of their

own denominations, they leaped over sectarian lines and

sought each other's society in religious gatherings. These

gatherings developed into the "big meetings" held in barns

and groves, owing to the lack of church buildings of suf-

ficient size.

 

Our narrative now brings us to the memorable meeting

between Otterbein and Boehm. It took place in the large

barn of Isaac Long in Lancaster county in Pennsylvania.

There were more people present than could get into the

huge structure. Those who crowded into the barn were

addressed by Boehm. An overflow meeting in the orchard

was conducted by one or more of the "Virginia preachers"

who were present. The New Light followers of White-

field in the Valley of Virginia were known as the "Virginia

preachers." The meeting took place on Whitsunday, and

the year is believed to have been 1768. Otterbein had left

the city of Lancaster and was preaching on the Tulpe-

hocken. Boehm had not yet been disfellowshiped by the

Mennonites. The crowd at Long's was made up of Ger-

mans and the preaching was in the German language.

Perhaps all the distinctively German sects then known in

America were represented at this meeting. In what way

Otterbein came to be here is not known. There was little

in common between the Reformed and the Mennonite

churches, and there was a great lack of cordiality in the

relations between them. But Otterbein sat on the plat-

form near Boehm and listened to that minister with warm-

hearted appreciation. At the close of the sermon he clasped

Boehm in his arms with the significant exclamation: "We

are brethren." From this time forward, these two men,

dissimilar in training and education, were united in the

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 35

 

firm bonds of religious fellowship. Early tradition has it

that at the close of this meeting Otterbein, Boehm, and

the Virginia preachers entered into a form of union on

some simple yet definite conditions. Even the official name

of the United Brethren in Christ is believed to date from

the exclamation by Otterbein.

 

In fellowship with the leaders of such meetings as this,

Otterbein found what he desired. The leaders were at

first regular authorized ministers of various Protestant

sects. But in evangelical spirit they stood on common

ground. Thus came into being the ministerial intimacy

between the scholarly Otterbein and the comparatively

unlettered farmer-preachers, Boehm and Newcomer. An-

other associate was Guething, a Reformed minister, yet

with only enough education to teach a country school.

 

However, Otterbein was not without other congenial

spirits in his own church. Hendel, Wagner, Hautz, Henop,

and Weimer were brother ministers who agreed with him

as to methods. Adopting the system of Spener, they formed

in the spring of 1774 the society known as "The United

Ministers." They formed classes within their own con-

gregations and congregations that were without pastors.

General meetings were held twice a year, "that those thus

united may encourage one another, pray and sing in unison,

and watch over one another's conduct. All those who are

thus united are to take heed that no disturbances occur

among them, and that the affairs of the congregations be

conducted and managed in an orderly manner." But the

war for American Independence seems to have worked a

suspension of these efforts.

 

We have remarked that it was an independent congre-

gation of the Reformed Church to which Otterbein was

called in 1774. It had had a pastor whose ministrations

were very formal and whose life was inconsistent. The

evangelical minority seceded in 1771, called Benedict Swope

as their pastor, bought a lot, and built a frame house, suc-

ceeded in 1786 by the historic brick church now standing

on the spot. The title to the property was not vested in

 


 

36 UNITED BRETHREN

 

the Reformed Church at all, but in chosen members of

the congregation. After a long drawn out law suit the

validity of the title was upheld. The authorities of the

Reformed Church tried without success to bring about a

reconciliation. In 1774 Otterbein, who was already no

stranger in Baltimore, was called. This independent body

styled itself an "Evangelical Reformed" church, and was

not definitely received into the United Brethren fold until

1817. It did not acknowledge the authority of the Re-

formed synod, nor was it disowned by that body. But in

theology Otterbein's church was Arminian, while the

Reformed Church upheld Calvinism. The class-meeting

adopted as a feature of the Baltimore church, was unknown

to the Reformed Church. The congregation adopted its

own rules of government.

 

In substance these rules were as follows: Each member

was to attend faithfully at all times of worship, and to per-

form no business or needless travel on Sunday; family

worship was enjoined on all members, and offenses between

member and member were to be dealt with as in the eigh-

teenth chapter of Matthew; the slanderer was first to be

admonished privately, then, if necessary, openly rebuked

in class-meeting; members of other churches were ad-

mitted to communion, and persons who were not members

were admitted by consent of the vestry if no objection were

made. Still other rules were these: There was to be a

class-meeting each week, an evening session for the men,

a day-time session for the women. No person was to be

admitted to such meeting unless resolved to seek his salva-

tion and obey the disciplinary rules. The meetings were

to begin and end with singing and prayer. Persistent

absence without cause was to work expulsion. No preacher

was to be retained who upheld predestination or the per-

severance of the saints, or who was out of harmony with

the disciplinary rules and the modes of worship, and on an

accusation of immorality he might at once be suspended.

One of the highest duties was to watch over the rising

youth. There was to be one day of fasting in the spring and

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 37

 

one in the fall. A parochial school with instruction in the

German tongue was to be established. The pastor, the

three elders, and the three trustees were to constitute the

vestry, which was the custodian of all deeds and other

papers of importance. A highly significant rule was that

the pastor was to care for the various churches in Mary-

land, Pennsylvania, and Virginia that were supervised by

Otterbein and "in unity with us," and to give all possible

encouragement to lay preachers and exhorters. Thus

Otterbein's church in Baltimore was a mother church to

various congregations scattered over several counties of

the three states, and may be regarded as the primary organi-

zation of the sect with which it was to unite.

 

The men who founded the Church of the United Breth-

ren in Christ did not wish to come out from the churches

with which they had been associated. Their aim was to

promote spirituality within the parent body. Spiritual

inertia and a rising tide of opposition extinguished Otter-

bein's hope of working wholly within the Reformed

Church. Nevertheless, he never actually withdrew from it,

and until the very last his name was carried on its minis-

terial roll. And this was in face of the fact that he was

criticized and persecuted by some of the Reformed minis-

ters. Boehm, as we have seen, was cast out from the

Mennonite sect. His followers were also excluded "until

in true sorrow and penitence they should return and

acknowledge their errors, both to God and the Church."

 

Both Otterbein and Boehm felt impelled to extend their

usefulness by going beyond their own immediate boun-

daries. Each of these men preached with greatly enlarged

power, because endowed with, a special baptism of the

Holy Spirit. But each labored chiefly among the people of

his own denomination and such other persons as came

within his sphere of influence.

 

For some years the adherents of the new movement

came most largely from the Reformed Church. After the

fathers of the United Brethren died, a revival spirit within

the Reformed Church curtailed the number of accessions

 


 

38 UNITED BRETHREN

 

from that quarter. But for forty years semi-independent

Mennonite circles continued to push their way into the

newly founded church. Otterbein and Boehm and their

co-laborers had no choice. The duty was upon them to

provide an ecclesiastical home for their followers. These

followers were ostracized and even persecuted in the

churches from which they had come, and they were derided

by worldly people. They must have some place to Co. It

was the logic of circumstances that founded the United

Brethren.

 

In the gradual development of the work by Otterbein

and Boehm, congregations were formed, and these were

presided over by local preachers, who were at the same

time lay preachers, since they had to derive their liveli-

hood from secular pursuits. Some of these men were

class-leaders at first. Others felt more distinctly the call

to an active ministry. As a rule they were men of little

education yet of warm spirituality. For a long while these

local preachers worked under the general direction of

Otterbein and Boehm, who were therefore self-constituted

bishops. The great meetings afforded much opportunity

for counsel. But it was increasingly felt that a more

definite and systematic procedure should be adopted.

 

The first actual conference in the history of the United

Brethren Church met in Baltimore in 1789, and in the

parsonage of William Otterbein. Besides the two leaders

there were present George A. Guething, Christian New-

comer, Henry Weidner, Adam Lehman, and John Ernst

Seven others were absent. Of the fourteen preachers

recognized as belonging to the conference, nine had come

from the Reformed Church, four from the Mennonites, and

one from the Moravians. It had been twenty-two years

since the first meeting between Otterbein and Boehm at

Long's barn, and more than ten years since Boehm had

been cast out of the Mennonite Church. Both men were

past their prime and were more than sixty years of age

This marshaling of figures shows in an impressive manner

how gradual and informal had been the rise of the United

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 39

 

Brethren movement. And even this first conference did

not go so far as to effect a complete and well-rounded

organization. It is not certain that it adopted the actual

name by which the church is officially known. Yet it did

adopt a comprehensive Confession of Faith and Rules of

Discipline. Doubtless this little group of men realized

that the hour had not quite arrived for the precise details

of a thoroughgoing organization. The church they were

founding was a growth, an evolution. It was not a thing

made to order.

 

The final clause of the Confession of Faith then adopted

is significant of the concessions made by the two leading

elements which combined to form the United Brethren.

In tradition and tendency the German Reformed and Men-

nonite churches were far apart. The former baptized in-

fants, while the latter did not. The latter made the wash-

ing of feet a sacrament, while the former regarded it merely

as an example. Neither party could be expected to come

at once and unreservedly to the viewpoint of the other side.

But each party could be charitable with regard to a differ-

ence of opinion, and this is what took place. The

clause in question is a compromise and is tolerant and

broad. In the United Brethren Church, three modes of

baptism are recognized, and it is the privilege of the can-

didate to choose between sprinkling, pouring, and immer-

sion. The washing of feet is not held to be an ordinance.

 

The second conference was held in 1791 at the home of

John Spangler, eight miles from the city of York. Nine

members were present and thirteen were absent. But the

large number of absentees does not indicate indifference.

At that time the highways were abominable. There were

no railroads, automobiles, or telephones. The mails were

slow, and letter postage was high. And as there was not

yet an organized itinerancy, it was not the business of the

conference to decide where the several preachers were to

work. This was a matter they decided for themselves.

 


 

40

CHAPTER VI

EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 

In the early conferences of the United Brethren, busi-

ness was a very subordinate matter. There were no com-

mittees. Everything done was done by the body as a

whole. Circuits were laid out by the preachers themselves

and not by the conference. The preachers met for mutual

encouragement and spent nearly all the session in religious

services. It is therefore easy to account for the brevity

of the minutes of these conferences.

 

The conferences of 1789 and 1791 were in the nature of

informal, advisory meetings between two de facto bishops

and the small band of local preachers working under their

direction. Otterbein and Boehm acted as bishops, but there

was no definite organization to elect them to the office. The

primary object of these two assemblages was mutual

advice and consultation. This fact helps to bring out the

progressive nature of what began as a movement and

gradually developed into a compact organization.

 

The United Brethren movement was one of the results

of the revival period of 1750-1825. It was very hard to

reform the old German congregations and bring them to

the New Testament standard of law and order. Otter-

bein's flock at Lancaster was disorderly, and like some

others it had been in the hands of incompetent pastors.

The fathers of the United Brethren denomination were

committed to the idea of a spiritual church. They were

not designedly "come-outers." Yet they could not stay in

the church homes that had reared them, because of the

narrow and vituperative conservatism which could not

brook any change in the old order of things.

 

The followers of the new movement had not been

known by any general name. Such terms as "the Breth-

ren," "the Unsectarian," and "the Liberty People" were

applied to them. Still other designations were the "New

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 41

 

Reformed" and the "New Mennonites." Sometimes the

names of the leaders would be used, and they would be

styled "Otterbein's People," or "Boehm's People." There

were also semi-independent groups of Mennonites, such as

"Light's People," who were drifting toward the new church.

In 1820 Peter Cartwright speaks of a tavern-keeper at

Knoxville, Tennessee, whom he calls an "Otterbein Metho-

dist."

 

As a distinct church the United Brethren sect begins

with the meeting held in September, 1800, at the house of

Peter Kemp, two miles west of Frederick, Maryland.

Fourteen preachers appeared. Their two-day meeting did

not call itself a general conference, although it exercised

the functions of one. It chose a name for the new denomi-

nation and it elected bishops.

 

It seems to have been easy for these men to agree on

the name by which the church has ever since been known.

It was not enough to use the simpler form of "United

Brethren," because this was already the official name of

the Moravian body. To avoid uncertainty, especially in

matters that might involve questions in law, the words

"in Christ" were added.

 

William Otterbein and Martin Boehm, who were already

bishops in effect, were now elected as such. Otterbein was

now seventy-four years of age and Boehm was seventy-five.

 

The first printed Discipline says this of the first con-

ference: "The preachers were obliged to appoint an annual

conference in order to unite themselves more closely, and

to labor more successfully in the vineyard of the Lord;

for some had been Presbyterian, or German Reformed,

some Lutherans, and others Menonists."

 

In 1801 came the beginning of an itinerant system, ten

men consenting to travel as directed by the bishops, in-

stead of laying out circuits for themselves. Still more

method was introduced into the system by the conference

of 1802. One or two of the preachers would agree to serve

as presiding elders. The action taken in this matter was

generally informal and usually unanimous.

 


 

42 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Ever since the meeting at Kemp's, there has been a

regular and uninterrupted succession of general confer-

ences. Until 1810 there was but one annual conference for

the entire church. The first new conference was the Miami,

set off in that year. In 1829 the Eastern, or original. Con-

ference was divided into the Hagerstown and Harrisburg

conferences, the former including the Virginia territory,

and the latter becoming the Pennsylvania Conference.

The first conference to be definitely known as a general

conference was held in June, 1815, in a log schoolhouse

of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. It adopted a Con-

fession of Faith, substantially the same as that of 1789,

and Rules of Discipline, based on those of Otterbein's

church in Baltimore. The Discipline was ordered to be

printed, but only in German. However, the next general

conference, that of 1817, ordered that 100 copies of the

Revised Discipline be printed in English. This book in-

cludes forms for the ceremony of marriage and the ordina-

tion of bishops and ministers. The Confession of Faith

"rests on the Apostles' Creed and the New Testament, and

adds only those necessary specifications in regard to the

application and mission of the gospel that even the simplest

of the later creeds have been compelled to include. The

creed might be called a working creed for a revival peo-

ple."*

 

In 1841 the Confession of Faith was revised and a Con-

stitution adopted. These remained in force until 1889.

 

It had now been half a century since the meeting of

Otterbein and Boehm in Long's barn. The early fathers

of the United Brethren had passed away. Thirteen years

more and the ministry had ceased to be exclusively local.

The pioneer period in the history of the church may there-

fore be considered to close in 1830.

 

Of the three leading fathers of the church, Otterbein

was the skilled theologian. He was eloquent and argu-

mentative, and his elucidation of Scriptural truth was ex-

ceptionally clear. Boehm was essentially an exhorter, and

 

*Drury

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 43

 

his appeal was to the feelings. Geeting was regarded by

Henry Boehm as the greatest orator among the United

Brethren.

 

It is well for us to speak further of George Adam Geet-

ing, whose name in German tongue is spelled Guething.

He came to America in his youth, and settled about 1759

on Antietam Creek near the present town of Keedysville.

In winter he taught school and in the warm weather he

quarried rock and dug wells. He seems to have been con-

verted through the preaching of Otterbein and he at once

became an earnest Christian. For a while he read printed

sermons to his congregation. Discerning that Geeting was

capable of doing better than this, Otterbein had a friend

come up behind the young preacher and take the book out

of his hand. Geeting was thus thrown back on his own

resources, yet delivered an impressive discourse. In 1783

he was ordained as a minister of the Reformed Church.

The Geeting meeting house, a small log building dating

from a little before the beginning of the Revolution, is

believed to have been the first house of worship built by

Otterbien's followers of the revival movement. Otterbein

was too heavy a man to be cast out of the Reformed

Church, yet Geeting was expelled for "wildly fanatical"

preaching that was at variance with "decency and order."

Thenceforward, his home was with the new church, of

which he has been called the St. John, and also the Apollos.

He was the traveling companion and adviser of Otterbein.

His house was a favorite stopping place for Newcomer

and other early preachers. His meeting house was an

Antioch to the young church and many revivals took place

here. Geeting died in 1812 at the age of seventy-three years.

Otterbein, Boehm, and Geeting were the "clover leaf" of

the early church, and their departure occurred at nearly

the same time. This coincidence, coming as it did in the

formative period of the church, had a depressing effect.

Much depended on the new leadership that became neces-

sary.

 


 

44

CHAPTER VII

PLANTING THE CHURCH IN VIRGINIA

 

The German immigration to America made its earliest

home in the southeast of Pennsylvania. The county of

Lancaster, in that state, is, more than any other, the first

seat of United Brethrenism.

 

Like all other immigrants, the German wanted plenty

of elbow room. To be nearer than half a mile to a neigh-

bor was considering crowding. A mile was thought near

enough to be comfortable. And there seemed to be plenty

of elbow room, for the continent appeared to stretch in-

terminably westward.

 

So, as their numbers increased, the German families

flocked over the colonial boundary into Maryland, and

thence into that part of the Valley of Virginia lying between

Winchester and the vicinity of Harrisonburg. The district

next the Potomac, on the Virginia side, was rather avoided

because of the litigation between Lord Fairfax and Joist

Hite, and the consequent difficulty of getting good titles.

The country south of Harrisonburg was at first peopled only

By the Scotch-Irish, but it was not long until German set-

tiers moved onward as the more restless Scotch-Irish

pressed still farther to the south and west.

 

The German settlers were partial to good lands, such as

the limestone belts in the Valley of Virginia. Also, they

were unwilling to make a home unless it could be near

a good spring. Furthermore, they were conservative.

They did not want change. They wanted to do as they

had been used to doing, and they held to the old even at

the cost of becoming unprogressive. And so far as they

adhered tenaciously to their mother tongue they remained

foreigners in feeling.

 

Among the Germans coming to the Shenandoah coun-

try were families who had taken part in the great meet-

ings in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Some of them were

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 45

 

related to Geeting, Newcomer, and others of the early

preachers. So the preachers they had known north of the

Potomac followed them and held great meetings in the

Valley, particularly near Mount Jackson.

 

The site of Keedysville, near Antietam Creek in Mary-

land, was the home of George Geeting, Otterbein's chief

adviser. His home was also a headquarters for Boehm,

Newcomer, and other preachers. At Beaver Creek, a dozen

miles eastward across the mountains, was where New-

comer lived. Farther east were the Kemps and others.

A few miles farther north were the Draksels, Mayers,

Baers, Browns, Hersheys, Russells, and others, while on

the Virginia side of the Potomac and within a day's ride

were Ambrose, Strickler, Senseny, the Niswanders — Isaac

and Abraham, and the three Duckwalds — Ludwig, Henry,

and Frederick. Still others were the twin brothers — Henry

and Christian Crum. Thus there were gathered at Antie-

tam, as a central point, those who were fired with a com-

mon spirit. The great religious experiences they had

enjoyed were told in a wonderful way to the throngs

attracted by interest and novelty.

 

Strong congregations were soon formed around Win-

chester, at Sleepy Creek, and east of the Blue Ridge in

Loudoun county. The last named locality was often visited

by Bishop Newcomer. But by reason of emigration this

flock passed out of existence more than a century ago.

 

Before 1815 there was quite an exodus of these people

across the Alleghenies into Ohio and the west of Pennsyl-

vania. It came thus that the Miami, the first daughter

conference, was organized largely by the preachers who

had come from the East, for up to this time, the whole

work was embraced in the Eastern, or original, confer-

ence. The families who settled in the west of Pennsyl-

vania, especially in Westmoreland county, were active and

loyal, and laid the foundations for the present prosperous

United Brethren Church in that favored region.

 

Almost the only record we have of the early work of

these circuit riders is found in Newcomer's Journal, pub-

 


 

46 UNITED BRETHREN

 

lished in 1835. It was not intended for publication, and

its brevity is often disappointing to those who would like

more complete information. The Journal, after its pub-

lication, was evidently sold by the itinerants.*

 

When eighty-one years old, Newcomer attempted a trip

into Virginia. Sunday, March 1, 1830, he rode to the home

of Michael Thomas at Boonsboro, nine miles from his own

house, and lodged there for the night. Next morning he

was too ill to go on and he returned. Wednesday, he wrote

thus: "This forenoon I tried to write in my journal, but

alas! I find that I am not able to perform the task, so 1

lay down my pen. The Lord alone knows whether I shall

be able to resume it again. The Lord's will be done. Amen.

Hallelujah."

 

It is this record of Newcomer that gives early circuits

in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Ohio. It is not

by any means a complete record, as it gives only the tours

by himself and his companions, for he seldom traveled

alone.

 

Just before the first annual conference at Kemp's, in

September, 1800, Newcomer made a tour of the Virginia

circuit. This time he was accompanied by Martin Boehm

and his son, Henry. Another preacher. Christian Crum,

lived at Pleasant Valley, eight miles northeast of Winches-

ter, on what has since been known as the Jacob Hott place.

For years this was the first stopping place of the German

preachers, and here these three men held their opening

service on the Virginia circuit. They arrived Monday night,

September 1, and the elder Boehm preached. He preached

again at Dr. Senseny's in Winchester, and a Methodist

preacher followed with an exhortation. Wednesday, they

held a meeting at Abraham Niswander's, near Middletown,

and then rode to the house of A. Boehm, a relative to the

bishop, where Newcomer preached and was followed by

Henry Boehm. Thursday forenoon they preached at Jacob

Funkhouser's west of Fisher's Hill, riding thence to Wood-

 

*The copy owned by A. P. Funkhouser was purchased by his

paternal grandfather in 1837, as witnessed by his autograph signa-

ture and the date.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 47

 

 

 

stock and lodging with one Zehrung, who, by the way,

gave a lot for a church in Woodstock. This gift was made

more than a hundred years ago. The bishop preached in

a church at Woodstock Friday morning, and then they

rode to Jacob Rhinehart's, where Newcomer preached.

Saturday and Sunday there was a meeting at the widow

Kagey's on Smith's Creek. Bishop Boehm preached in

German and was followed by his son Henry in English.

Then they rode to a Mr. Bender's, where Newcomer

preached. After they had retired. Bender's wife began

moaning aloud. They arose and prayed with her.

 

The preachers turned out very early Monday morning,

September 8, and rode to the house of John Peters near

New Market, where Newcomer and Boehm preached in

German and Henry Boehm in English. After dismissing

the people, the crowd continued to stand around in groups,

crying and moaning, so another meeting was held. Ben-

der's wife had followed them to this place, was converted,

and made shoutingly happy. The preachers then rode to

Homan's in Brock's Gap. In the afternoon they accom-

panied Strickler to his home sixteen miles away, arriving

late at night. Their next stopping place was at Peter Bibey's

in Augusta county. Passing through Staunton, they called

on the Methodist pastor and went on to the house of Chris-

tian Hess.

 

On Saturday the 13th, a great meeting began at Henry

Menger's on the side of the mountain, southwest of

Swoope's Depot. In the afternoon they rode to a Mr.

Harris'. Next day, returning through Staunton, they

dined with the Methodist pastor, and then rode seventeen

miles to Widore's. Tuesday morning Newcomer preached

at Zimmerman’s in Keezletown, and then the party rode

sixteen miles to John Peters' near New Market, where the

bishop was again the preacher. Next day they crossed

the mountain into Page, spending the night with Christian

Fori, near the South Fork. Thursday, Bishop Boehm con-

ducted a funeral service at Woodstock, and the night was

spent with John Funkhouser west of Fisher's Hill. Satur-

 


 

48 UNITED BRETHREN

 

 

day a sacramental meeting began at Niswander's near

Middletown.

 

Continuing their return journey the party reached New-

comer's home, Tuesday the 23d, just two days before the

opening of conference. The Boehms must have gone on

to Kemp's, for there was not time to reach their own homes

and be at conference on the first day, this being the time

when Newcomer found them there.

 

The next visit to Virginia was two years later, in June,

and it occupied eight days. Otterbein, Newcomer, Crum,

and Strickler were the preachers and they traveled to-

gether. Their first point was a sacramental meeting at

Jacob Funkhouser's west of Fisher's Hill. The services

Sunday night were at Christian Funkhouser's. The place

was appropriately called Funkhouser Hollow, since there

were seven families of this name, all with farms adjoining.

They all spoke the German language, built their houses

alike, each one over a spring, professed the same religion,

and yet each family had its own burial ground on a hill-

side. Their relationship has never been traced by any one

of the present time. On this journey Otterbein preached

nearly every night. Services were held at Crum's, at

Geeting's, at Newtown, at Niswander's in Middletown, and

at Winchester.

 

In October of the same year Newcomer and Geeting

traveled the Virginia circuit, one or the other preaching

every day for nineteen days and always in German. Their

preaching places were much as before, Stoverstown (Stras-

burg) being one of the appointments. At Mengen's, their

most southern point, was the great meeting for which they

set out. To attend the two-day services the people came in

some instances thirty to fifty miles.

 

"Year after year for almost thirty years Newcomer

made visits to Virginia, continuing them almost to the

time when Glossbrenner began his work as circuit rider.

"The meeting places were changed to suit local' con-

ditions. From Hoffman's the meetings were changed to

Peter Myer's near the present Pike Mennonite church.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 49

 

George Hoffman moved to Augusta, taking his religion

with him, and Mount Zion became an early preaching place.

Peter Myers built a dwelling house with a large room

in it for meetings, which were held regularly here for

many years.

 

"In the spring 1809 Newcomer made a unique visit

to Harrisonburg. He came as a committee to confer with

Bishop Asbury and the Baltimore Conference of the Metho-

dist Church on the subject of church union. This confer-

ence was held in the log church on the hill where the old

burial ground still remains. Two bishops, Asbury and

George, and sixty preachers were present. The day after

it closed Newcomer, delighted with his cordial entertain-

ment, rode down the Valley with Asbury and other preach-

ers, among whom was Henry Boehm, son of the bishop.

 

"The last visit by Newcomer was in 1828, when he was

seventy-nine years old. That summer he held eight camp

meetings, three of them in Virginia. In company with

William Brown, afterward bishop, and William B. Rhine-

hart, a sweet singer and later the first editor of the Religious

Telescope, he made the usual stops until he came to a

camp meeting on Mill Creek, two miles west of Mount

Jackson. Such meetings were held here from 1825 to

1830 inclusive, on the farm of the great grandfather of

A. P. Funkhouser. The camp spring is yet pointed out in

the middle of Mill Creek. After the close of the meeting,

the preachers went on to Rockingham and spent the night

with Jacob Whitesell, who had married Brown's sister in

Pennsylvania, and who had now an old mill on Dry River,

a mile or two below Rawley Springs. Whitesell and his

family later moved to Vigo county, Indiana, where his

descendants are among the pillars of the strong church

now in that section. The preachers then went to the camp

meeting on Beaver Creek just opposite the home of the

late John Whitmore. Mrs. Maria Paul attended this meet-

ing, being then a girl, and remembered the bishop as tall,

spare, and clean-shaven. During one of his discourses a

large, fat man walked into the congregation and stood

 


 

50 UNITED BRETHREN

 

leaning against a tree. His name was Koogler, and he

was a paper-shaver with a reputation not very savory.

Newcomer pointed him out, remarking, 'Oh me, if that

man would become converted, how much religion he could

hold.'

 

"At the close of the camp meeting, Newcomer and his

companions rode to Peter Whitesell's, where Brown

preached in German and Newcomer in English. Simon,

father of J. D. Whitesell of Harrisonburg, was then but

eight years old, yet preserved to the end of his life a clear

recollection of the visit. Whitesell's church had been built

here the year previous. It was the first United Brethren

church built in Virginia, and a most influential center for

many years. This house of worship grew out of the meet-

ings at Hoffman's and Peter Myers': Passing through Har-

risonburg to the head of Brock's Gap, the party took dinner

with Henry Tutwiler, a brother-in-law to Whitesell, and a

tanner of buckskin. He was postmaster at Harrisonburg

thirty-one years. Tutwiler was a zealous class leader of

the Methodists, and was the father of one of the first gradu-

ates of the University of Virginia. Years afterward, he

died shoutingly happy after a sudden illness, the day after

holding a watch meeting on New Year's eve.

 

"The next day found Newcomer at a camp meeting on

the land of Jacob Lentz, at the head of Brock's Gap four

miles above Dovesville. Lentz had come from Loudoun

county years before, bringing his United Brethrenism with

him, and though he was more than thirty miles from the

county seat, he was not too far away for his old friends

to find him. Near him at Dovesville, was another United

Brethren, Frederick Doub (Dove), who had come from

Frederick county, Maryland. The post office was named

after him. The descendants of the Lentzs and Doves, and

the intermarried families now form a large element of

the population here. The present Keplinger chapel,

recently remodeled, was dedicated November 27, 1858, by

Jacob Markwood, then a presiding elder."

 

The compiler of this volume finds among the papers

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 51

 

given him the statement that the first United Brethren con-

ference — presumably of Virginia — was held June 3, 1794,

in the stone house that was used as a law office of the late

General John E. Roller. But as this meeting is not men-

tioned in the general histories of the church, it must have

been a gathering of the Virginia preachers of that decade

and perhaps a few from the other side of the Potomac.

The first official conference in Virginia was held in the

same town, March 2, 1809.

 

Mention has been made of the Whitesell church. As

late as 1850 there were but two other church buildings of

the United Brethren in Virginia. In 1860 the total mem-

bership in both Virginia and Maryland was not over 3,000.

 

There was for a long while a feeling that there should

be no gathering of church statistics, and none were given

out by the United Brethren Church until 1837. This pre-

judice seems to have grown out of the relation of David's

sin in numbering the people.

 

A more complete account of Newcomer's travels in

Virginia will be found in the next chapter.

 


 

52

CHAPTER VIII

EXTRACTS FROM NEWCOMER'S JOURNAL

 

Christian Newcomer was of Swiss descent and was born

near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, January 21, 1749. His

parents were Mennonites and the, son was reared in their

faith. He learned the carpenter's trade from his father,

but when he was about twenty years old the parent died.

At the deathbed request of the latter, he took upon himself

the care of the farm and thus provided a home for the

mother and a sister. After a year the sister found a hus-

band, and as the mother was a midwife and much away

from home. Christian was married in 1770 to Elizabeth

Baer. Not long afterward he was converted at home as a

result of personal seeking. Thinking he should become

a preacher, he took counsel with one of the Mennonite

preachers, a person who stood high in the young man's

estimation. But this elder could not comprehend the

experience his friend had undergone, and cast doubts upon

it. However, when stretched on a bed of sickness, the older

man became convinced that the younger man was in the

right. Newcomer removed to Maryland, where he found

that his neighbors, though well-meaning and friendly,

were unacquainted with experimental religion. He had

long continued misgivings with respect to becoming a

preacher. It was not until he had overcome this reluctance,

through recourse to earnest prayer, that Newcomer found

restoration from what he regarded as a backslidden state.

 

He had already listened to Otterbein and Geeting. Find-

ing that he and they were in entire harmony in the matter

of experimental religion, he joined a society of what were

then called Otterbein's people, and in 1777 became a

preacher among what were derisively called the "Dutch

Methodists." Newcomer continued to preach very nearly

to the end of his long life. In 1813 he was made a bishop

and thenceforward he led a particularly active career. He

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 53

 

crossed the Alleghenies thirty-eight times and rode on

horseback six thousand miles a year. When nearly eighty

years of age he thus traveled to Ohio and Indiana, held sev-

eral conference, and returned in his usual health. A little

later he made a similar trip to Virginia, where he held a

great meeting near Swoope's. These trips were kept up

till 1828.

 

There is a striking parallelism between Christian New-

comer of the United Brethren Church and Francis Asbury

of the Methodist Church. The former has very justly been

called the Asbury of the United Brethren. Both men were

bishops in the pioneer period of their respective organiza-

tions Each was an empire-builder in the ecclesiastical

sense. Each was an indefatigable worker. Each was a

prodigious traveler, spending so much time on horseback

that it is small stretching of the fact to say that he lived

in the saddle. Each of these early bishops kept a journal

and each journal has been published.

 

Newcomer was tall, commanding in figure, and robust

in physique. No portrait is in existence. In 1828 he held

a camp meeting near Crider's store in Brock's Gap, at a

spring still known as the "camp spring." Seventy years

later Mrs. Maria Paul remembered seeing him there. Her

description of him as a tall, slim, smoothly shaven man of

serious appearance tallies with other accounts.

 

The bishop was not a great preacher except in earnest-

ness of purpose. He had a slight impediment in his speech

and his voice was but moderately strong. Yet he was a

successful evangelist, and as a superintendent he was

fearless as well as diligent. He was a firm believer in the

itinerant system, perceiving that it is peculiarly adapted to

new and sparsely settled districts.

 

Newcomer's journal, written in German and trans-

lated by John Hildt, was published at Hagerstown in 1834.

It is prefaced with an autobiography, this dealing almost

wholly with his religious experiences. The journal begins

October 27, 1795, and continues until March 4, 1830, only

eight days before his death. To many persons it has been

 


 

54 UNITED BRETHREN

 

a matter of regret that most of the entries are so brief

and fragmentary. This brevity impairs the historic value.

But it is highly probable that the bishop never thought his

manuscript would ever appear in book form. Perhaps

his notes were regarded by himself as little more than an

aid to his memory.

 

With a view of allowing the journal to throw all the

light possible on the history of the Virginia Conference

prior to 1830, we now present the following extracts.

 

1795

Preached at Virumbach's in Virginia from John 2:14.

 

1796

Preached at Henry Crum's Thursday, October 13. (Note: Henry

and Christian Crum were twin brothers who went to Winchester

from near Frederick, Md. They strongly resembled one another.

Both were very useful preachers.) Preached Friday at Millers-

town. Next day a sacramental meeting began at Stony Creek

I gave the first discourse — from Psalm XL. On Monday, the last

day, many sinners were converted. Tuesday, preached at Snider's

near Linville Creek, and in the evening came to the home of a

Mennonite uncle, a preacher, where I spoke from Psalm XXIV, 15.

Wednesday, though afflicted with a severe toothache, I preached

twice at J. P.'s near Smith Creek. Thursday rode to Massanutten

and preached there Friday at Mr. Hiestand's but found the people

of that neighborhood rather hardened. Saturday, rode to the

forks of the Shenandoah and lodged with Jacob Weaver, a very

sick man. Sunday morning, preached at the house of J. Fa—

from "It is time that judgment should begin at the house of God"

and in the afternoon the Lion roared wonderfully. A meeting

Monday at the home of a widow whose husband had lately died

but the people seemed cold and lifeless. Tuesday spoke in New-

town from Hebrews XII, 15, and found the Lord present. In

the evening preached in Winchester to a large congregation. Next

day, before returning home, visited two criminals under sentence

of death.  Seemed to make some impression on one but none

on the other.

 

1797

Met Mr. Geeting in Newtown, September 20, and preached in

the evening. Next evening (Thursday) preached at Woodstock

from Revelation III, 19, 20. Friday there was a meeting in New

 

Market, where the Lord was present with saving power.  A meet-

ing at Mr. Steffy’s and lodged with him. Spoke first Saturday

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 55

 

morning at eleven in a three days meeting beginning at Peter

Meyer's in Rockingham. Sunday morning Geeting preached with

remarkable power from, Whosoever will be my disciple let him

take up his cross and follow Me." Exhorted after him and then

followed the Lord's Supper. Candle-light meeting at Mr. Klein’s

several young people prayed for salvation. At the close of the

meeting (on Monday) there was a glorious time, and the people

were so much affected that most of them cried aloud. Tuesday

an appointment with Henry Geeting, son of George, and lodged

with Mr. Brunk. Wednesday morning preached to a large assembly

in a schoolhouse near Shenandoah River, and then rode to the

home of a relative who entertained me in a very friendly way

but cared very little about religion. Thursday, preached at a

widow's to a sympathetic congregation that included two German

Baptist preachers. Friday, visited Mr. Zehrung in Woodstock

and then rode to John Funkhouser's, staying there all night. Next

day a sacramental meeting began in Frederick county. The people

were uncommonly affected. An aged man came forward with tears

trickling down his cheeks. Monday evening preached from Psalm I.

 

1798

August 10, an uncommonly warm day with a torrential rain

after crossing the Potomac. Lost my path in the woods and

had no other light than the occasional flashes from another thun-

derstorm. Got off my horse and prayed for protection. On rising

from my knees, I saw the path only a few yards away, and soon

reached the house of Mr. Ambrose, where I dried my clothes and

had a comfortable rest. The next day was Saturday and a sacra-

mental meeting began here. Christian Crum and Dr. Senseny

preaching with power. Among the seekers was a native of Ger-

many, who praised God he had come to America, and to a people

from whom he had learned the way of salvation. The people

around here generally poor but concerned for the salvation of their

souls. Sunday great many people were present. Monday, rode

to Warm Springs (Berkeley Springs) and crossed to Hancock, Md.

Wednesday, September 26, stayed with my daughter, Mrs. Jacob

Hess near Martinsburg. Next morning preached at Bucklestown

and at night at Winchester. Friday evening preached at Millers-

town to a little flock. Saturday, spoke first in a sacramental meet-

ing with warmth and feeling. Preached at eleven, and after the

sacrament exhorted in English. Monday, visited an uncle and

aunt on Linville, and rode on lodging with Henry Huber. Tues-

day morning preached at the widow Brunk's and lodged at Mr.

Grove's. Wednesday evening, spoke in a schoolhouse, and at night

at the widow Kegis' on Smith Creek. Thursday, preached at Mr.

Meiles', a few miles from Millerstown, and the next day came

to John Funkhouser's. Saturday, October 6, a sacramental meet-

 


 

56 UNITED BRETHREN

 

ing at Abraham Niswander's near Middletown. Felt so stripped

of all grace that I did not know what to say, but at night there

was a glorious time. Sunday I spoke after Geeting. and next day

preached at Henry Crum's. At this meeting a Quaker sister was

moved by the Spirit and gave an exhortation and prayer with

astonishing power.

 

1799

Wednesday, May 1, the first appointment at Henry Crum's.

Next day attempted to speak after Geeting at Jacob's church in

Frederick county, but because of a leg bruised by a falling crow-

bar, I had to desist, and Friday I had to stay at Crum's starting

home Saturday.

 

Thursday, July 25, preached in Winchester, and Friday came

unexpectedly upon a meeting held by Henry Crum, after whom I

spoke to an attentive audience. Then rode with Crum to Stovers-

town (Strasburg), visiting old Mr. Stauffer, a man of 83. Preached

next morning at Jacob Funkhouser's. Sunday, preached to a little

flock in the old church at Woodstock, and at night held a class-

meeting at Zehrung's. Monday, reached Henry Geeting's. His

house was struck by lightning a few days ago, but no one injured

although the whole family were inside. Next morning preached

at Andrew Kauffman's, and in the afternoon at the house of Mr.

Renker, a justice of the peace. Wednesday morning preached at

Stony Creek, and in the evening at Niswander's, where there was

a small but attentive congregation. Thursday, preached at Jacob

Funkhouser's on Mill Creek and lodged at S. Peter's in Rocking-

ham. Friday morning preached here to as many people as the

room would hold, and put up with Mr. Brunk in Brock's Gap.

Saturday, arrived at George Homan's where a great multitude

were assembled for a sacramental meeting. Sunday afternoon I

spoke from Hebrews II:3. Geeting and Strickler were here on the

whole we had a blessed time. Tuesday preached at Christian

Kauffman's. Wednesday I lodged with Mr. Weber and next day

reached Niswander's, whence I rode with Geeting to Winchester

and was the guest of Mr. Kurtz. Friday morning I went into a

drugstore to purchase some medicine. The druggist then took

me into an adjoining room, called the family together, and re-

quested me to hold family worship, which I did. Among those

present was an intelligent young man, a son of the Rev. Mr. Hinkle.

After breakfast I went with Geeting to visit Dr. Senseny, who

had been taken very ill. Nine miles beyond we held a meeting

at Mr. Sweyer's and then went to Ambrose's, where a two-day

meeting had been appointed. Saturday the assemblage was so

large that I could not see how so many people could live in such

a mountainous region. Sunday, a Methodist brother preached

in English.

 


 

57 CHURCH HISTORY

 

1800

 

Thursday, August 7, Geeting and myself had an appointment

at Shepherdstown. Friday I lodged with Mr. Duckwald, and

Saturday began a meeting on Sleepy Creek, which lasted through

Sunday. Monday I preached at Berkeley Springs and stayed with

Mr. Grammer.

 

Monday, September 1, came to Christian Crum's where a great

congregation assembled the following day. Father Boehm preached

first, and at night with great power at Dr. Senseny's in Winchester.

A Methodist followed him in English. Thursday there was a

meeting at Niswander's, the people being very attentive.

preached at A. Boehm's and was followed by Henry Boehm.

day a meeting at Jacob Funkhouser's, and visited old Mr. Yager

at Woodstock. Father Boehm preached here in the church. I rode

on to Rhinehart's and preached there, speaking Saturday at the

widow Kegis'. Sunday, Father Boehm preached in German, and

his son Henry followed in English. The grace of God seemed

visible in almost every countenance. The people were so reluctant

to go away that we prayed once more for them. I rode with Henry

Boehm to Mr. Bender's, where we preached but to all appearance

without any effect. Monday morning we came to the home of

John Peters, where a houseful of people were already gathered.

Myself and the Boehms preached. At the close the people would

not leave, so we began again and prayed with them. Rode thence

to Homan's, where many young people had collected, and whom

Father Boehm exhorted. Tuesday morning a great many people

gathered within a short time. I spoke after Father Boehm. The

whole, congregation shed tears and we had to break away to go

to the next appointment, leaving them praying. Mr. Strickler had

come as a guide to his home, 16 miles distant. Passing into Rock-

ingham we visited Mr. Welsh, a Methodist preacher and most

excellent man. There was a great crowd Wednesday. Father

Boehm, following me, had not spoken long until several persons

rose to their feet, striking their hands and shouting in an ecstasy

of joy. The evening meeting lasted till midnight and the house

could not hold all who were present. Thursday we rode to Peter

Biber's in Augusta, where I preached and was followed by Father

Boehm, but the word seemed to make little or no impression. Fri-

day we came into Staunton, where we called on Mr. King, a

sincere and affectionate Methodist preacher, took some refresh-

ments, and then rode on to Christian Hess', where we lodged. A

great meeting began Saturday at Henry Mengen's. I addressed a

large audience and was followed by King and Henry Boehm.

After Boehm had spoken a few words, the power of God seemed

to pervade the whole congregation. There was prayer and class

meeting at night. Parents shouted for joy to see their children

 


 

58 UNITED BRETHREN

 

converted to God. Father Boehm was followed by King Sunday

morning. After a sacramental service we rode to Mr. Harr's,

where I was followed by King in English, but nothing would

touch these people. Monday we returned to Staunton, dined

with King, and rode on 17 miles to one Widore's, where Father

Boehm spoke with wonderful power to a great many people.

Tuesday morning, Henry Boehm and myself preached at Zimmer-

man's in Keezletown. We went on 16 miles to John Peters',

where Father Boehm spoke to a numerous congregation. Wed-

nesday we preached at Mr. Harshbarger's, and lodged with Chris-

tian Fori at Massanutten. He does not seem concerned about

religion. Thursday morning Henry Boehm preached in English

in an old church near by. Many accompanied us after the meet-

ing and we had to tear ourselves away. Some rode with us across

Three Top Mountain. We passed the night at Mt. Stover's, and

reached Woodstock next day, where Father Boehm preached the

funeral sermon for a Mr. Grove, using this text: "Set thy house

in order, for thou shalt die and not live." At John Funkhouser's

I preached from Romans VHI, 17. Saturday a sacramental meet-

ing began at Niswander's in the open air. I was followed by Crum.

At night I preached at Senseny's and met the class. Sunday, Sep-

tember 21, I delivered an opening discourse to a vast multitude,

but the word had not the desired effect. I preached in the after-

noon, and was followed by Henry Boehm, who made some im-

pression. We had to leave them to meet an appointment at the

Methodist church in Winchester. Father Boehm spoke first and

in German. Henry Boehm and myself followed in English. There

was a blessed time. Lodged with Mr. Lauck. Monday I passed

through Shepherdstown on my way home, lodging with John

Mumma.

 

1801

Sunday, August 2, I heard Enoch George, a powerful speaker,

preach in Shepherdstown. (George was a Methodist bishop.)

August 26 I was told by Bishop Whatcoat (Methodist) in Hagerstown

that at different places in America powerful revivals had taken

place. Next day I reached Berkeley Springs, lodging with Mr.

Kremer. The second day (Friday) a blessed meeting at Duck-

wait's began. Saturday it was protracted till late. Sunday I

spoke in both languages and went home with a Mr. Frosh. Monday

crossed North Mountain to Martinsburg, stopping for a lunch at

Mr. Winter's on Back Creek.

 

1802

 

A sacramental meeting begins Saturday, June 12, at Jacob

Funkhouser's in Shenandoah, Otterbein delivering the first sermon.

Eight were converted at night at Christian Funkhouser's. Sunday

there was a great congregation, Otterbein speaking first — from

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 59

 

Daniel VII: 13, 14. I cannot but be always astonished and lost in

amazement at the power and energy with which this old servant

of God declares the counsel of his Master. The people were very

attentive. We rode on to Niswander's and tarried. Otterbein

preached at Newtown on Monday. At night I spoke in the Metho-

dist meeting house and lodged with Mr. Bush. Tuesday Otter-

bein preached in the Reformed church at Winchester. At night

we heard Enoch George and Quinn, the Methodist brethren. Wed-

nesday Otterbein preached again and I followed him.

 

Thursday, August 26, I came to John Miller's in Berkeley, and

at the Springs next day met the English brethren (Methodists),

Mitchell and Pitts. Saturday, Geeting, Crum, Geisinger, and Sen-

seny arrived before me at a sacramental meeting at J. M.'s, many

bringing their children for baptism. I baptized a child belonging to

an English lady, using the English language. (Newcomer only

means that he used the English language). Lodged at J. Funk's.

 

Wednesday, October 13, preached at Christian Crum's, next

morning at Dr. Senseny's in Winchester, and at night to a large

congregation in the Methodist church at Newtown. Friday, Geet-

ing spoke in Stoverstown, and at night there was a meeting at

John Funkhouser's. Saturday the preaching by Geeting and my-

self at a great meeting at Andrew Kauffman's did not appear to

make much impression. Monday there was a meeting at John

Funkhouser's on Mill Creek. Tuesday, Geeting and myself had

a very good meeting at Henry Huber's. Wednesday, a quarterly

meeting began in Hoffman's barn in Rockingham. Never have I

witnessed the power of God in so great a degree among so many

people. The meeting was protracted till late at night and many

found peace. I was entertained by the Meyers, a godly pair.

Next day the crowd was still greater. Lutherans, Presbyterians,

Mennonites, Baptists, and Methodists all drew near the Lord's

table. Many were not able to avoid shouting. With difficulty we

parted from the people to meet an appointment at Mr. Hivener's

10 miles away. Friday morning there was a meeting at J. Domer's

and at night at Lewis Shuey's, 10 miles beyond. Saturday, a sacra-

mental meeting begins at Mengen's, some coming more than 50

miles. Parents and children were together on their knees. I went

home with Mr. Brobeck. Sunday many came to the Lord's table

with streaming eyes. Preached at night at Staunton and lodged

with Mr. Falker. Monday I rode 42 miles, preaching to a small

assembly at Mr. Mertz's in Rockingham. Tuesday morning I

preached three miles from Mertz's, then rode 23 miles to Wood-

stock, where the people had been some time waiting for us. Wed-

nesday I preached in Stoverstown, and had a meeting Thursday

in Middletown at the house of Senseny, a tanner. Preached at

night on the same day in the Methodist church at Winchester.

 


 

60 UNITED BRETHREN

 

1803

Preached in both German and English at a sacramental meeting

at Sleepy Creek, beginning Saturday, August 27 Tuesday, spoke

to a large congregation in Newtown. Wednesday, James Smidt

exhorted in English at Niswander's. Thursday I spoke at Kauff-

man's and Friday at Funkhouser's on Stony Creek.  A quarterly

meeting began Saturday at Homan's. Wednesday September 6,

Spoke at Hoffman's and rode 12 miles to Mr. Dider's. Wednesday,

I preached at Heffner's, and Thursday to a large congregation in

a mill. The people entreated us to stay, but we had to leave to

hold a class-meeting at Lewis Shuey's 12 miles distant. Many peo-

ple here next day. A quarterly meeting began Saturday at Bro-

beck's in Augusta, a great multitude being present next day. Sun-

day night I preached in a schoolhouse, where a great number

were in distress and the meeting lasted till daybreak. Many were

converted. Monday I preached at Strickler's Tuesday at Zimmer-

man's and a point 15 miles beyond, and Wednesday in New

Market, where four preachers were in the large audience. The

people desired another visit. But at Woodstock, the following

day while preaching in the Reformed church, one of two ministers

hastily withdrew. Saturday a two-day meeting began at Senseny's

in Middletown. Sunday night I preached in Winchester.

 

1804

A quarterly meeting began at J. Funkhouser's, Saturday, May

26 Sunday, Otterbein preached again from Matthew III, 12, and

was followed by myself and Strickler. Monday I rode through

New Market to the house of Mr. Huff, who would not let me go

any farther. Next day I lodged with Mr. Kreiner beyond Keezle-

town. Thursday, I dined at Harrisonburg with Mr. Sala, a book-

binder Friday I preached at New Market, Sunday in an old

chapel at Massanutten. I had colored as well as white hearers

and they were well satisfied. Having preached in both languages,

my strength was all gone, and a lady closed with prayer. Monday

I preached at Woodstock in the English (Methodist) meeting

house. A minister sitting just in front of me suddenly fell, but

I did not know why. Tuesday I preached in German and English

at Senseny's near Middletown. Thursday, June 7, Henry Smith

and myself addressed the people at Henry's Crum's.

 

Saturday, August 11, I arrived at a camp meeting held in a

beautiful grove in Berkeley county. I could hear the people sing-

ing some distance away. In a circle around a large, open space,

a number of tents were pitched, inclosing the area where were

the stand for the preachers and the seats for the people. In and

around the tents and all over the ground were men, women, and

children in swarms, busily preparing for the occasion. My heart

was filled with gratitude that I live in a land where every indivi-

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 61

 

dual is permitted to worship God according to the dictates of his

own conscience and no one dare disturb him. The brethren in the

preachers' tent gave me a cordial welcome. In the large circle

encompassed by the tents were board seats under the shade of the

trees, where many hundreds of people could be accommodated.

An audience was assembled by blowing a horn. After dark it was

a beautiful sight to see the whole circle, and especially the preach-

ers' stand, illuminated with lamps. All around, before the tents

and on the trees, lights were in contrast with the starry firmament

above. The concourse on Sunday was estimated at 4,000, about

300 partaking of the Lord's supper. Monday morning at daybreak

I could hear the people in every tent singing and praying, and

offering up family worship. In a short while the people assembled

for a general prayer meeting. Preaching was at 10 A. M., 3 P. M.,

and candle-light. The meeting lasted the whole week, and daily

more people assembled. The second Sunday 6,000 were present.

Toward evening the people were dismissed, but many remained

till morning. Daniel Hildt, McDonald, Roszel, Jefferson, Welsh,

Swift, Pannel, and some other preachers were present. It was

a harvest time.

 

September 8, I learned of the death of Dr. Senseny at Win-

chester.

 

December 22, I paid 25 cents at Berlin (now Brunswick, Md.)

to have my horse led across the Potomac on the ice, myself

following. That night I preached at J. A.'s, and next day twice in

Loudoun county.

 

1805

Preached at Harper's Ferry, January 13.

 

1806

Sacramental meeting eight miles from Berkeley Springs, August

30. Strawbridge, a Methodist, following Hershey. At night a

man fell to the ground and lay a considerable time without the

least sign of life. When he came to himself, he praised God say-

ing he never in all his life felt so well.

 

Though unwell, I preached at Christian Crum's, Tuesday, Sep-

temper 23. The perspiration brought out by the exercise of speak-

ing was beneficial. Wednesday there was a meeting at J. Senseny's,

and Thursday I preached 10 miles beyond. Friday I preached

at Crangdorf's, but was too unwell to meet the next appointment,

12 miles beyond. A quarterly meeting began Saturday at Gotlieb

Homan's. Monday night I had a severe fever, but rode 33 miles

the next day.

 

Preached in Loudoun, Sunday, December 8.

 

1807

Tuesday, June 3, there was a meeting at Senseny's, near Mid-

dletown, where Eberhart and Holmes, an English brother, spoke.

 


 

62 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Wednesday we preached to a large congregation at Funkhouser's,

10 miles away. Thursday, I rode 40 miles to Homan's finding the

house full of people. Saturday, I opened a quarterly meeting at

Peter Meyer's, and at night preached at Kauffman's in English.

Many people were present Sunday. Rode 15 miles to Jacob Brunk's.

Monday there was a meeting at Mr. Shauter's Tuesday one at

Rhinehart's, Wednesday one at Woodstock. Saturday and Sunday

there was a quarterly meeting at Niswander's and at night I

preached in Winchester.

 

Thursday, August 27, I reached a camp meeting near Crum's.

Saturday and Sunday there was a quarterly meeting on Sleepy

Creek. Monday, at the camp ground, we had the most powerful

time I ever beheld. September 2, I lodged with Joseph Crisop

beyond Frankford. A thunderstorm at night was so severe that

the family got out of bed and spent some time singing and praying.

Preached at Mr. Roth's and at Christian Funkhouser's, Wed-

nesday, September 30, and next day at A. Kauffman's. Friday

I heard the celebrated Lorenzo Dow in Woodstock, and rode 2

miles with him to a camp meeting, where he preached at candle-

light and at sunrise next morning. A quarterly meeting at Homan's,

Saturday and Sunday. Return to the camp ground, where the

singing, praying, and shouting continue all night. Preaching at

Shangpeter's Tuesday, at Peter Meyer's Wednesday, and at Dider's

Thursday. Quarterly meeting begins at John Shuey's Saturday,

October 10. Lambert, a Methodist, preaches Sunday. At night

I preach in Middlebrook and lodge with Bernard Lauman. Sacra-

mental meeting at Senseny's, near Middletown, Sunday, October

18, and same night I preached in Newtown.

 

1808

Monday, May 23, I lodge at Shepherdstown on my way to con-

ference, and see an elephant for the first time. I am 59 years old.

Conference began Wednesday and closed Friday. The brethren

were assembled at Senseny's. A quarterly meeting on Sleepy

Creek, Sunday, September 18. Ride home with Henry Reiner.

 

Preached in German and English at Henry Frey's in Loudoun,

December 31. The meeting (a watch-night) continued till after

midnight. On New Year's day, preached at Philip Frey's.

 

1809

Arrived at Harrisonburg. Sunday, March 5, where a thousand

people were attending the Methodist conference. Henry Boehm

preached in German after Bishop Asbury, and was followed by

Jacob Gruber and myself. Next day a committee was appointed

to consult with me to see whether any union could be effected

between the two churches, and it met the day following. We dis-

cussed many and different subjects, but had nothing else in view

than the furtherance of the cause of our Master. In the afternoon

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 63

 

I was invited to attend the conference, and received a resolution

in writing which I was to deliver to William Otterbein. Sunday,

March 12, I preached at Middletown in both languages, and rode

to Winchester, where Roberts and Henry Boehm preached at night.

 

Preached in Loudoun at Frey's and Philip Eberhardt's, March

24-26.

 

Sacramental meeting in same county, July 29-30.

 

Camp meeting at Smithfield, August 25-29, about 6,000 being

present. Spoke at Winchester last day of meeting, then go to

Harrisonburg, where there is a large congregation, Sunday, Sep-

tember 3. After the Lord's supper an old Methodist named Greaves

spoke in a most wonderful strain. Monday, a meeting at Shuey's,

where one person fell to the ground with the jerks and shook in

every limb in a very remarkable manner. Tuesday, a meeting at

John Peters', and Friday one at David Funkhouser's, where I

spoke in English. Quarterly meeting at Stony Creek Sunday.

Preaching in Woodstock Tuesday, September 12, and Wednesday

at Huddle's schoolhouse and Christian Funkhouser's. Sacramental

meeting at John Senseny's Thursday and Friday. Saturday,

preached at Winchester in the German Presbyterian (German

Reformed) church. A very large congregation here Sunday, Hinkle,

a Methodist, closing the sacramental service. A two-day meeting

began at Duckwald's on Sleepy Creek, October 14, Hinkle preaching

Sunday.

 

1810

Preached at Frey's in Loudoun, September 22.

 

Preached at Mr. Evans' near Shepherdstown, December 3.

 

1811

Meeting in Shepherdstown, March 3, at John Funkhouser's,

March 10.

 

April 22, my wife dies and I break up housekeeping, moving

to my son Andrew's where I have my. own room and my board

when I am at home with him.

 

Preached in Shepherdstown, Tuesday, June 4, and at John

Senseny's Friday. Quarterly meeting began at Jacob Funkhouser's

Saturday. Preached at Woodstock Sunday night, and at Michael

Homan's Monday. A two-day meeting began at Peter Meyers'

Tuesday, June 11. Preached at Peter Rider's Thursday. Sacra-

mental meeting began at Lewis Shuey's Saturday, Christian Smidt

being present. Preached at Altdorfer's Monday, at Henry Huff's

Tuesday, at John Peters' Wednesday, at George Funkhouser's

Thursday, at Henry Geeting's Friday, and Sunday at Abraham

Funkhouser's and Niswander's. At Shepherdstown, Wednesday,

June 26, I exhorted after Enoch George. A young woman was

converted and next morning we learned that her father cow-

hided her for going to a Methodist meeting.

 


 

64 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Saturday. August 3, a two-day meeting began at Philip Frey's

in Loudoun.

 

August 31, reached a quarterly meeting on Sleepy Creek. Crum,

Duckwald, and Reiser being present. Next day. Strawbridge, a

Methodist, preached with great effect, some coming forward with

streaming eyes, while others stood giggling and laughing.

 

1812

Preached at Henry Frey's March 22.

 

1814

Preached at Henry Frey's January 9.

 

March 23, heard Asbury’s funeral discourse on the late William

Otterbein.  The church was much too small to contain all who

came, among them being Methodists, United Brethren, Lutherans,

Presbyterians, and Episcopalians.  Bishop McKendree (Methodist)

closed the service.

 

June 4, sacramental meeting at Mt. Artz's in Shenandoah. The

people could not leave, but continued to sing and pray all night.

 

Sacramental meeting at Lewis Shuey's, June 11-12. James

Sewell, a fine young Methodist, assisting. Two-day meeting began

at Peter Meyer’s, June 14. Night preaching in English at Zim-

merman's near Keezletown. Rode more than 40 miles and preached

at Millerstown, June 17. Sunday, June 19. preached at the widow

Funkhouser's and at Niswander's.

 

1815

Preached at Henry Frey's. September 17.

 

1816

Quarterly meeting began at the widow Funkhouser's, Saturday,

April 13. Spoke at Mr. Hay's Monday.

 

At a camp meeting August 22-26, where more than 120 tents

were up and many thousand people present. Great good was

done. Preached in Stoverstown, Wednesday, August 27. Thursday

at Melchor’s on Stony Creek. Friday morning at Yellow Springs

Friday night at the house of John Matthias in Hardy. Sacramental

meeting at Frederick Doubs, August 30-31, at Niswander's Septem-

ber 3, next day at Bear's. One at Swoope's, September 6-7.

 

1818

Preached to a large congregation at John Senseny's, March 12.

 

1819

Preached at Christian Crum's, Wednesday, September 1. Sun-

day preached at Mill Creek in both languages. September 8-14,

a camp meeting in Rockingham. One of the best I ever attended.

 

Rode to Winchester, July 30, finding Christian Crum very near

the end. Preached the funeral discourse.

 

Camp meeting at George Hoffman's in Rockingham, August

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 65

 

2-8. with delightful weather the whole week. Meeting in the

schoolhouse near the widow Funkhouser's, August 8.

 

1821

Preached in Winchester, Sunday, August 12. A meeting Monday

at Mr. Blind's. Camp meeting at George Hoffman, August 16-21.

Many will remember it. Exhorted in Stoverstown, August 22.

 

1822

Sacramental meeting at William Smidt's in Newtown.

 

1823

I attended the dedication of our new meeting house at Littles-

town, Pa. (This is the first dedication mentioned by Newcomer.)

 

1828

Attended a Sunday School with the children, June 22, and

closed it with prayer. (This is Newcomer's first mention of a

Sunday School.)

 

Preached Saturday. August 30, at a camp meeting in Shenan-

doah from Psalm XL, 3-5. Sunday, preached from John V. 6-8.

Lodged at Jacob Weitzel's in Rockingham, September 4. I had

married him to Peter Brown's daughter, September 5, 1820. Mon-

day, came to a camp meeting in this neighborhood. It closed

September 10, then rode to Mr. Weitzel's and preached there at

night in English. Next day a meeting at Lauman's. September 12,

came to a camp meeting at Jacob Lentz's in Brock's Gap, the

seventh I have attended this summer. Many people present, but

most of them hard and unaffected.

 


 

66

CHAPTER IX

THE EARLY PREACHERS

 

Let us pass in review the "great meetings" that were

so prominent a feature of the United Brethren movement

in its early period.

 

Otterbein was a city preacher. With a single exception

his pastorates were in places large for a time when Amer-

ican cities were few and small. And yet his greatest work

was done in the country at those seasons of the year when

meetings could he held in the open air or in large, fireless

buildings. His leading associates, Boehm and Geeting,

preached only to congregations of country people

 

The great meeting took place once a year in a given.

locality, but sometimes twice. It began on Saturday and

usually lasted three days. It was announced well in ad-

vance and much preparation was made for the occasion.

The great meeting was the event of the year because some

noted preachers came from a distance to hold it. Even

the best settled parts of America were comparatively a

wilderness to the end of the colonial age. Post offices were

exceedingly few, and the rates of postage were well nigh

prohibitive.  A letter was very often entrusted to some

private person who could act as a messenger.  Tidings of

the meeting were therefore spread orally. Most of the

attendants came on horseback or afoot, because there was

no vehicle except the road wagon and not every trail

could be used by it. Nevertheless, great crowds gathered

and the community was taxed to the utmost to feed and

lodge them.

 

Sometimes the meeting was in the open air. But the

thrifty farmer of German birth or parentage was quite sure

to have an immense barn, and such a building served quite

well to accommodate the throng. Newcomer once men-

tions meeting in a mill.

 

These meetings were looked forward to with satisfac-

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 67

 

tion by the evangelists themselves. Finding themselves

lonesome in their own formal denominations, they sought

each other's society in religious gatherings. A leader in

the great meeting found sweet fellowship in his associates.

Other ministers were often present, and if they had the

evangelical spirit they would take part.

 

The preaching was positive and dogmatic. "Thus saith

the Lord" settled all questions. Great stress was laid on

the new birth. The contrast was drawn between ruin and

death by sin and salvation and eternal life through faith in

Jesus Christ. Preacher and follower were alike spiritual

and emotional. It was the common thing for penitents

and converts to make their appearance at every service.

 

"The great tenet of this new preaching was a mystical

union with God through Christ Jesus, causing a spiritual

regeneration, which changed the heart so radically as to

produce a new man in ideals and desires, and, therefore,

in ethical conduct. Form and ceremony were nothing;

everything was continued in spirit and life. From the

nature of the case, the position assumed by these reform-

ers on questions of morals and conduct was radical. Their

religion was individual, their scriptural interpretation

literal, and their ethical standards high. Hence they had

little tolerance for what they deemed unscriptural."

 

During the intervals between two great meetings the

people were left mainly to their class and prayer meetings.

There was an occasional sermon if a preacher could be

found These prayer and experience meetings were held

in private homes, the experience consisting in the feelings

or ideas with respect to the inner and spiritual life. There

were not yet any organized church activities, and all the

people could talk of was what they thought or felt. Men

and women accustomed themselves to oral prayer, and

some of them could pray in public with great power and

effect. These home meetings developed leaders, who were

very instrumental in grounding in faith and hope the peo-

ple who zealously followed them.

 

We now pass on to the period 1800-1830.

 


 

68 UNITED BRETHREN

 

The United Brethren organization arose as a revival

church. It took its adherents mainly from "Satan's side

of the line," instead of from other folds or from people

with a training in churchliness. "The early preachers were

therefore heralds of salvation to lost men. When they had

faithfully urged their hearers to flee the wrath to come',

they considered their duty performed. After 'going over

the circuit' and preaching gratuitously they went home.

They built no houses of worship, gave no attention to the

training of the young, set in motion no working activities

and collected no money, unless for the benefit of the poor."

 

So the preacher came, preached, and went home, and

he paid his own way. He worked on his farm till well

into Saturday, then rode a long distance, preached that

night and two or three times Sunday, giving his religious

experiences and his meditations on the Scriptures with

special reference to the future life. All the people had to do

was to hear the preacher, feed him and his horse, and then

wait till he came again. It was the general opinion that

preaching could be done by men almost wholly engaged in

other callings and without previous training.

 

Otterbein and Boehm had licensed converts who felt it

their duty to preach. This practice v.as continued and

converts were often licensed immediately on their con-

version. The preacher who could produce the greatest

effect was considered to be moved by divine power. The

convert called was in most instances in possession of a

wonderful religious experience, and his sermon would en-

force that experience with a powerful appeal calculated to

stir the emotions tremendously.

 

It is not strange that with such a hasty method both

ministers and members were often irregular and unreliable.

Thousands of people know nothing of Christianity except

as it is illustrated in the lives of those who possess it.

Being unacquainted with the Bible and far from God, they

have no other standards of measurement. Backsliding was

likely to have a wide reaching influence. But a close dis-

cipline was put into practice in the new church. Hearing

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 69

 

complaints against ministers was a prominent feature in

the proceedings of almost any conference.

 

A well-developed itinerant system did not come in a

day. The early preachers in the United Brethren move-

ment had some outside employment, on which they de-

pended for support. They were really local preachers.

Each formed a circuit about his own home, with the pre-

sence and assistance at irregular intervals of the leading

preachers. He left home when he could do so with the

least prejudice to his bread winning pursuit. It was ruled

that those who preached only where they lived were to

have no compensation, and what they did collect they

were to turn over to the benefit of the traveling preachers.

 

A regular itinerancy began in 1801 when ten preachers

consented to travel as directed by their superior officers.

Newcomer sought to improve the method thus begun. He

considered the itinerancy an apostolic mode, and was

quick to see its adaptability to new and thinly peopled dis-

tricts, like those into which his church was penetrating.

 

The imperfect itinerancy of the pioneer epoch was

criticized by Bishop Asbury. In his church the system was

well organized and ran like clock-work. It was because

of this efficiency that the Methodist Church was making

its wonderful growth.

 

After 1830 there was better organization in the United

Brethren Church, and a ministry that gave its whole time

to the work, although its support was meager. The num-

ber of local preachers on the roll of the Virginia Confer-

ence has steadily diminished, and during the last quarter-

century not one has been received.

 

Until 1841 the circuit-rider had a maximum salary of

$80 a year if a single man, and twice that allowance if he

were married. The salaries were then raised to $100 and

$200, respectively. No higher compensation was allowed

the bishop than to the preacher working under him.

 


 

70

CHAPTER X

REMINISCENCES OF SOME EARLY PREACHERS

 

In the present chapter we present some reminiscent

observations of several of the United Brethren ministers

who were in active service between 1800 and 1800. Chief

among those writing their recollections, when on “the

western slope of the rugged mountain of life” was George

W. Statton, who in 1900 was living in Colorado.

 

**********

 

The reminiscences below are by John W. Fulkerson.

 

The Virginia Conference of 1855, held at Mount Hebron,

is spoken of as containing forty-three men, present and

absent.  A11 were of good preaching ability, sound in doc-

trine, devotional, zealous, and bold as lions. They sensibly

enjoyed the Christian religion themselves, and insisted

that all other persons should have a realizing knowledge of

the divine power to salvation, if they desire to be sure of

heaven at the end of the present life. They felt called

upon to take a stand for vital piety, to advocate a pure

spirituality, to preach a religion that has in it the power

of the Holy Spirit to such an extent that the professor may

know he has passed from death unto life. The fathers of

the conference had a heavy conflict on their hands, tor the

formal churches had brains, education, and influence, and

thought the United Brethren were fanatics, or fit subjects

for a hospital for the insane. These formalists united to

squelch the evangelical movement with all the powers they

could command, and these were not insignificant.

 

The affairs of the conferences of the 50's were man-

aged by three strong men: Henry Burtner, Jacob Mark-

wood. and Jacob Bachtel. The measures they originated

and advocated were adopted, and what they opposed was

sure to fail, no matter by whom it was supported. They

were invulnerable, but the conferences were well managed.

These men were intellectually ahead of the other members.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 71

 

They were devotedly attached to one another and to the

church.

 

Burtner was the oldest of the three, and was at this

time a retired itinerant, his education being wholly in the

German. In 1842 he came to Dayton from Cumberland

county, Pennsylvania, and was now living on a fine farm.

His preaching, which was mainly in German was of depth

and power. He was above the medium height, of com-

manding appearance, and possessed a fine countenance

and a very penetrating eye. Burtner was genial, benevol-

ent, and hospitable. His home was open to all his brother

ministers, from the highest to the lowest, and to the mem-

bership of the church as well. He was admitted to con-

ference in 1820, and died at Dayton in 1857. A powerful

man, he was a factor not to be ignored in the councils of

his church. His voice was heard with no uncertain sound

in several of the general conferences.

 

Jacob Markwood stood next in authority, but unlike

what was true of Burtner his power and influence did not

lie in his business ability. He was a close student, a good

thinker, and a great orator. In fluency and in use of

beautiful language he was rarely excelled. In his best

moments he would carry as by magic, and whithersoever

he pleased, the largest and most unruly audience. In his

denunciations of the popular evils of the day, he was

severe, sarcastic, and emphatic in the extreme, and withal

so regardless of the possible consequences to himself, that

he would have his audience mad enough to want to hang

him. Then, in a few moments and with cyclonic power, he

would have his hearers weeping, as though with broken

hearts, and some of them screaming for mercy as if the

flames of hell were consuming them. In another moment,

and as with the speed of the lightning’s flash, the power

of his eloquence would be turned to the uplifting influence

of the gospel, to the abundant blessings of Christianity,

and for its supreme enjoyment in this life and the life

beyond The whole audience would soon be in a whirl of

glory and loud hallelujahs would come from every part

 


 

72 UNITED BRETHREN

 

of the house. At the dedication of Mount Zion church near

the village of Mount Solon, he preached two and one-half

hours from the text, "We have come unto Mount Zion."

But sometimes Mark wood failed and failed badly. He

was tender-hearted and often gave his last dollar to the

poor. It is told of him that while he was on the road to

preside over a conference in Ohio, he overtook an old man,

thinly clad, and to all appearance in ill health. Markwood

at once got out of his buggy, and walked with the man

a short distance, meanwhile putting several questions to

him. Then he took off' his double-cape overcoat and gave

it to the stranger. News of the incident reached the con-

ference, and another warm coat was provided for the

bishop.

 

Jacob Bachtel was in some particulars second to neither

of the other men. In personal appearance he was of

medium height, well-proportioned, and keen-eyed. His

hair was bushy and stood straight up. His fine appearance

and commanding address gave him much influence in the

camp-meetings and other out-of-door gatherings. He was

moral in every sense of the word and strictly conscientious.

Bachtel was not a man to be trifled with, for he felt that

the life and work of a minister of the gospel is a most im-

portant and serious thing. In the pulpit he was plain and

practical. He hated every form of sham and handled it

without gloves. He was particularly severe on agnosticism,

infidelity, and Romanism, and in this direction he was no

mean antagonist. Although he stood unflinchingly for

what he considered to be the right, he had in his private

character the tenderness of a loving Christian mother. He

would never go back on a personal friend. In the general

conferences he was an influential factor, and as a presiding

elder, to which office he was repeatedly elected, he was

always helpful to the preachers under his care.

 

Jacob J. Glossbrenner was a charter member of the

Virginia Conference and in many respects a great man.

He was tall and slender, with a commanding forehead.

His black eyes flashed intelligence. His language was

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 73

 

chaste and correct. In the pulpit he called a spade a

spade when dealing with the eternal destiny of immortal

souls. Though not deep in his thought, he was popular as

a preacher, and the pulpits of other churches were open

to him. His themes were of the most exalted character

and always dwelt on the bright encouraging side of Chris-

tianity and the happy results of Christian living. He ap-

peared to have no taste for dwelling on the sins of wicked

men or the corruption of the times. As a bishop he was

careful and conservative, his management giving general

satisfaction. By his family he was much loved.

 

William R. Coursey was prominent in the early history

of the church in the Shenandoah Valley. He was long an

itinerant, and this meant preaching nearly every day, week

days as well as Sundays, and on a meager salary. He had

a wife and six or seven children. It seems now an impossi-

bility to keep eight or nine persons on an income of $200

a year, yet it was done, and Frederick circuit, which was

large and wealthy, allowed it to be endured. There were

twenty-six appointments in this circuit, and yet he had few

presents, and his assistant, $90 salary and no presents.

Neither did Coursey receive anything for his children,

although it was left for the quarterly conference to make

an additional allowance for the support of the minister's

children. Coursey was modest, retiring, and a safe coun-

selor. He was of a good family, a good student, a

methodical thinker, one of the most successful of teachers,

and was considered a model preacher. He was devotedly

pious and strictly religious. He was often a presiding

elder and was sent to the general conference.

 

John Ruebush had but a limited education, yet was

active and hard-working, and in many respects a most re-

markable preacher. During his ministry, many persons

were gathered into the church, and many others were so

drawn toward it that they were never able to break away

from its influence, and years later came into the fold. The

pathos in his voice when he was preaching or sinking was

most affecting. The sermons of Ruebush could not be

 


 

74 UNITED BRETHREN

 

considered learned, nor was his rhetoric according to the

rules; yet he moved whole audiences as the tempest moves

the trees of the forest. He was great as a revivalist. A

pastoral charge in his care was a very poor place for hack-

sliding, and this happened to but few. He and 'is co-

laborers depended entirely on the earnest preaching of

the gospel, the power of spiritual song, the influence of the

Holy Spirit, and the gracious assistance of spiritual

enthusiastic church members. Revivals then meant some-

thing. They meant permanent societies. Ruebush would

have scorned the kinks, twists, and stratagems of the aver-

age professional revivalist of to-day. To the old United

Brethren minister or member, their methods would have

been disgusting and would have been deemed a travesty

on the Christian religion. Ruebush was the first regular

preacher to be sent to the South Branch of the Potomac,

and was largely instrumental in establishing the United

Brethren Church there. He was sent as a missionary to

establish the church in Tennessee. Such an errand meant

severe persecution and even jeopardy of life, because of

the anti-slavery record of our church. Yet at much finan-

cial loss Ruebush faced the dangers and endured the hard-

ships until he had planted the church on that unfavorable

soil, where it is still growing and prospering.

 

Benjamin Stickley was unique. The Virginia Confer-

ence never had but one 'Uncle Ben,' and will never have

another. Before conversion it was his special delight to

annoy the religious gatherings of Christian people. He

would not raise a disturbance himself, but would induce

others to do so by bribing them with plenty of whiskey.

The more fuss he could make the greater his fun, although

he would keep himself out of sight. When he was con-

verted at a camp meeting he had two bottles of whiskey

in his pockets. His whiskey was a free treat to his rowdy

comrades. He did not sell it to them as camp meeting

roughs have done in later years. When Stickley was con-

verted, he was converted through and through. All his

chums in wickedness were forsaken. His still was at once

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 75

 

given up. Although he could hardly read his text or his

Scripture lesson, he began holding meetings every Sunday,

sometimes riding forty miles to reach an appointment and

get home. Stickley was poor, he had a large family to

support, and as he received nothing from his preaching he

had to work hard to keep the wolf from the door. He thus

worked several years before he was received into the con-

ference. He was always sent to the mountain circuits,

which were large and whose people were poor. He had to

travel and preach nearly every day in the year and got

little for his work in a pecuniary way. Yet singing and

praying he would go away from conference and home, and

at the end of the year would report more souls gathered

into the church than was true of any of his co-laborers.

He had a powerful voice and Bachtel said of one of his

sermons that it could almost be heard in hell. Stickley

was the first missionary sent across the Alleghenies into

the bounds of what is now the Parkersburg Conference.

What is now West Virginia was then in great part an un-

inhabited wilderness. The mission circuit covered three

hundred miles, with preaching nearly every day in the

year. But a good report was always sure to come, even

if there were little money to mention. Stickley was a

missionary here at the time the Methodist Episcopal Church

split on the slavery question. Excitement was up to the

danger point. One day while he was passing the office of

a leading lawyer of the town of Weston, the lawyer called

him in, saying: "I want to talk with you. Be seated."

Stickley asked what was wanted. "There is great excite-

ment on slavery between the North and the South," was the

reply. "The great Methodist Church has split, the nation

is also going to divide, and it is all important that every

citizen take his stand and show his colors. We all want

to know which way you are going." Stickley responded

with one of his most pleasant smiles, naming the ends of

his mission field: "I go up here north as far as the town

of Fetterman, and south, as far as Steer Creek. If you and

your niggers don’t get religion, you will all go to hell to-

 


 

76 UNITED BRETHREN

 

gether." The lawyer had nothing further to say. Stickley

was known to be an uncompromising Union man. When

the civil war broke out and the Southern feeling became

intensely bitter, Stickley was thrown as a traitor into a

filthy prison. He soon became broken-hearted and his

glorious manhood was squelched. When liberated, he

sacrificed his farm and other property, left the home and

friends of a lifetime, and migrated to Iowa, where in no

long time he died, never recovering his former spirit and

ambition. After preaching a sermon at Washington, Iowa,

and asking the people to sing a hymn, he died in the pulpit.

In 1847 George Hoffman was still a local preacher,

though still an elderly man. He was the senior member

and had traveled a circuit before the old conference was

divided. He did not now go home and do nothing, but

regularly attended the quarterlies and the annual confer-

ences, preaching whenever asked. For some years he was

the conference book agent, serving without a salary and

getting only a small commission on his sales. He thus

made himself a most useful man and was much a factor

in shaping the policies of the church. Hoffman had little

education and was not a great preacher, yet he had great

influence, having the faculty of impressing himself and his

opinions most powerfully on both ministers and laity. He

had very decided convictions as to what was right in the

affairs of the church, and he had the backbone to stand

up to his convictions. Splendid common sense and a great

fund of practical knowledge were his, both in worldly

matters and the affairs of the church. Hoffman was a

very helpful associate, and the ruling authorities of the

church called him much into their councils. He was also

nicest companionable, being a fine talker, full of anecdote

and thrilling incident connected with his long and useful

life, and he had the happy faculty of relating these things

in an interesting way. Many was the time, when the

writer of these reminiscences would go to Hoffman's house,

land work hard all day, perhaps cutting and hauling in fire-

wood, so that the old gentleman might go with him to his

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 77

 

quarterly meetings in and across the mountains. For

Hoffman was acquainted with every path and every home,

and was loved and respected by all the mountain people.

 

The same writer gives a personal incident. At a con-

ference session in March, 1850, the only daughter of Jacob

Funkhouser, an interesting young lady, seventeen years of

age, came into church in the afternoon, this being the first

time she attended conference in day time. The pews faced

the doors, and by looking straight ahead, one could see

every ore coming into the church. The writer looked, saw,

and was conquered. By the time she had reached her seat,

he had decided she was the ideal of the woman he wanted.

He had not been thinking of marrying for at least five

years, and in his case there were good reasons why mar-

riage should be delayed. But in looking at Miss Funk-

houser, the matter was settled at once. She and her family

were perfect strangers, yet he made up his mind to marry

her very soon if it were all right with her. He had been

traveling a circuit three years, had been over the whole

conference district, and had become acquainted with hun-

dreds of interesting young ladies, many of them suitable

for becoming the wives of preachers. Yet not one of them

had appealed to him as a wife. There was now the pur-

pose to marry as soon as he could. But it took months of

the most assiduous courting before the wish was accom-

plished. The Funkhousers were Lutherans. A young

Lutheran minister wanted her as much as he did, and

prosecuted his suit with all the power that was in him.

Devotion, perseverance, and ardent love won a triumph,

and the marriage was solemnized by Jacob Markwood. Yet

the couple were permitted to walk together only fourteen

months.

 

About this time the narrator was assigned to Winches-

ter circuit, which included twenty-nine appointments

scattered over the counties of Frederick, Morgan, Berkeley,

Clarke, and Warren. His colleague was John K. Perry, a

most unpromising candidate, who had a hard time getting

into conference, although it turned out there was no mis-

 


 

78 UNITED BRETHREN

 

take in admitting him. Each of the two men made a round

every five weeks, meeting twice in every round at the house

of Isaac Stanholtz, not far from the Morgan line. There

they spent one night together, the preaching being alter-

nately by the two men. The narrator's revival meeting at

the Quaker meeting house near Anthony Funkhouser's

resulted in about eighty conversions and three new church

buildings: United Brethren, Lutheran, and Reformed. As

preacher-in-charge, he gave a sermon one Sunday morning

at the meeting at Green Spring. The large building was

well filled, both floor and gallery, with intelligent, well-

to-do people. The narrator was thought to be much the

better preacher, and used for his text, "Vanity of vanities,

saith the preacher, all is vanity." But the sermon was a

most wretched failure and very mortifying to the preacher

as well as to all the friends of the church. Jacob Hott

invited him to dinner, as was his custom, his home being

open to all the preachers. Hott was a most excellent judge

of preaching and one of the greatest "Scriptorians" the

writer ever knew. When about halfway home he looked

toward the preachers and said in a laughing manner,

"Brother Statton, it was vanity of vanities all the way

through and nothing but vanity. Why did you not take a

text that had something in it? Then you could have

preached a sermon that we would not be ashamed of." The

good dinner was not enjoyed by a certain one of the guests.

At night Perry preached to another crowded house a ser-

mon that was excellent, considering that at that time he

was inexperienced, and uncouth and awkward in address.

This time he won the laurels and carried them away in

glorious triumph. On this circuit Statton's salary was

$140, his colleague's $100. Yet they lived on what they

received and were happy. Perry was a devout Christian,

lived an honored life, and died in old age at Philadelphia.

Before his conversion George B. Rimel was a hard-

working farmer, and afterward he still labored with his

hands a good deal. He was without human polish and

destitute of the learning of the schools, and from a human

 


 

CHURCH HSTORY 79

 

viewpoint was a most unpromising candidate for the

ministry. Yet he had a strong mind and was unquestion-

ably called to preach the gospel. He was powerful in

prayer and clear and pointed in his application of Bible

truth to the conscience. Churches sometimes err in call-

ing men into church work, but God never does. The work

Rimel performed could not have been done by anyone

else. He was forceful and his style of preaching was much

needed in the early history of the conference. He was its

Boanerges. He gave sledgehammer blows at sin without

fear of the consequences, for there was no fear in him.

During a revival in Harbaugh's Valley, Maryland, his

speech was so plain and hard that the people were greatly

offended. Some half dozen men made an attack on him

as he was going home from meeting. "Boys," said he,

"let me alone. Don't touch me. If you do, I will straighten

my arm on you that the Lord has given me with which to

defend myself, and you will think a horse has kicked you.

I don't want to hurt you." There was no further trouble

in that neighborhood. At another time, while on his way to

Brock's Gap, Rimel lodged with Andrew Horn, a prominent

member near Turleytown. There was a union church in

his neighborhood, and it was a moderately good building for

those days. Horn was asked why it was not used, and was

told that every preacher had been run off by rowdies, this

element having sworn there should be no more preaching

in Turleytown. Rimel asked Horn to circulate an appoint-

ment, an evening in the following week, and he would

preach on his return from the Gap. Horn at length con-

sented, and there was a large congregation. The services

began in the regular way, and until the middle of the

sermon the house was quiet. Then a disturbance arose in

the farther end of the room. In a gentlemanly way Rimel

asked the toughs to behave themselves. This only made

matters worse. Then the preacher paused in his discourse,

and asked if some person would give him the names of

the disturbers. The rowdies bawled out their own names,

and these were written down by Rimel. "To-morrow,"

 


 

80 UNITED BRETHREN

 

said he, "I shall see the proper officers of the law, and have

you arrested and presented for your unruly conduct here

to-night." There was quiet during the remainder of the

services and another appointment was made. In the morn-

ing Rimel had to pass through the town, where a crowd

of furious men were awaiting him. The leader of the

gang caught the preacher's horse by the bridle and de-

manded that the paper containing the names be given up.

Rimel refused and the bully then attempted to pull him

off the horse. "Hold on," said Rimel, "I can get off my-

self." As he dismounted he slipped off his overcoat, and

then made the following announcement: "I am not afraid

of all the people in Turleytown, and I can whip them all

if they will fight fair. I can whip the whole pack of you.

I shall only need to get in one or two licks on a man, and

every man I hit will never know what hurt him." He then

made a pass at the rowdy captain, who at once showed the

white feather and ran. Rimel remounted, but had gone

only a little way when some one shouted for him to stop.

The preacher turned about. The spokesman said the men

were sorry for what they had done, and if the matter were

dropped, they would be his friends and protect him in his

meetings, for they much admired a brave man. There

were no more interruptions and Turleytown became a

reformed place.

 

The Virginia, Maryland, and Parkersburg conferences

were all one in 1818, and included only seven circuits:

Frederick, Hagerstown, Winchester, Woodstock, Rocking-

ham, Augusta, and South Branch. Frederick included all

of Frederick (in Maryland), Carroll, parts of Baltimore

and Montgomery and some territory in Virginia (Lou-

doun?). It was a four weeks circuit. Now (1899) there

are seven charges: Frederick station, Frederick circuit,

Meyersville, Mechanicstown, Keys, Littletown, and Man-

chester. Hagerstown circuit covered all Washington and

parts of Alleghany and Berkeley. In this territory are now

Hagerstown station, Middleburg, Williamsport, Boons-

boro, Keedysville, Berkeley, and Martinsburg station. Win-

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 81

 

Chester circuit included all of Frederick and Morgan, and

parts of Warren, Berkeley, and Jefferson. In 1849 it was

a five weeks circuit with thirty-two appointments. Wood-

stock circuit included all of Shenandoah and took in the

Lost River country, the fathers preaching at many places

not now occupied by the United Brethren. Rockingham

circuit took in all Rockingham, including the Brock's Gap

region. Augusta circuit was a trip of one hundred miles,

covering all of Augusta and Rockbridge, the Pastures, and

part of Highland. Rut the Presbyterian Church was too

well planted in most of this territory for our denomina-

tion to gain much foothold. The South Branch circuit

covered Hampshire, Hardy, Grant, Mineral, and a part of

Pendleton. Traveling one of these circuits meant some-

thing: self-denial, hardship, living from home all the year,

the great danger from crossing swollen streams, and the

machinations of men who thought it a great thing if they

could get the better of a preacher of the United Brethren

and Methodist churches.

 

In early days South Branch circuit was called "the Col-

lege." When a preacher found himself assigned to this

field it went very hard to think of going there. Rut his

comrades would come to his rescue, saying he must go

to "the College" willingly or he could not be graduated

into the itinerancy as a permanent member. So he would

always go, but with a wry face and thoughts very emphatic

in their meaning. One of these men was Albert Day, him-

self a native of the North Fork valley, and there converted.

His first year's salary was $50, yet many years afterward

he wrote that it was his "firm conviction that no young

man is fit for the ministry who would refuse to work for

$50 during his first year and the good that he could accom-

plish."

 

Writing from Minnesota in 1900, John W. Fulkerson

wonders if the walnuts and locusts in front of his child-

hood home are now mammoth trees, the spring a lake, the

hills mountains, the narrow valleys great plains, the sheep-

nose and damson trees scattered to the winds. He was

 


 

82 UNITED BRETHREN

 

received into conference in 1843. The preachers of that

period were sterling men, competent, industrious, and

economical. Ministerial support was meager and called

for economy in the home. Fulkerson was first sent to "the

College," which he found "marvelous in extent, but the

scenery sublime, the air balmy and bracing." The twenty-

four appointments paid $64.40, but Selim, the dapple rid-

mg horse, made the salary go far enough. The moral

atmosphere for producing ministerial life was strong in

Pendleton and Frederick. In his soliloquy on what "some

of our college-padded preachers of to-day would do with

such a charge," Mr. Fulkerson observes that "simplicity

of dress with both men and women has always been an

admonition with me. If the greedy, unnecessary expenses

of the Christian Church in dress, living, and house furnish-

mg were wisely applied to the building of church houses

and missionary effort, the world would soon be brought

to God." United Brethren services were then being trans-

ferred from the German to the English. The Virginia Con-

ference was having four stubborn difficulties to deal with.

The German speech was giving way to the English. The

church could hold the parents, but the children were pass-

ing out of its control. George Hildt, a strong representa-

tive preacher, had four sons preaching in other denomina-

tions. Another was too long a delay in opening church

schools. A third was slavery. Many good, honest slave-

holders attending the services of the church approved its

doctrines and methods. Yet they did not see their way to

become members because they sometimes became owners

of slaves not from choice, but by legacy or marriage. The

last cases of slavery in the United Brethren Church were

disposed of in 1851. A fourth cause was secrecy, which

turned away hundreds. Fulkerson, however, mentions a

fifth, when he remarks that a false attitude on church sup-

port is hard to correct. He preached one full year where

one member of his flock was said to be worth $80,000. At

the end of the year this man handed him a dollar. The

preacher looked at the munificent gift with astonishment.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 83

 

"Do not be startled," remarked the money-grubber, "I

have heard better preaching than you gave — (referring

to the fathers), and it did not cost me a cent."

 

Before any of the Station family joined the United

Brethren, they called the sect fanatical, because they had

been reared in the blue-stocking idea that all religious

meetings must be conducted in decency and order. When

Rimel was presiding elder the Brethren had a camp-meet-

ing at Gulp's old ground. J. F. Station attended, more

through curiosity than anything else. He was then a young

man of twenty-four and had taught several years in his

home neighborhood. At the Sunday night service Rimel

preached in German, giving sinners such sledgehammer

blows that Station was pounded into unconsciousness.

When he came to himself he found himself at the

mourner's bench, a place he had despised above any other,

not excepting the saloon. Before the altar service closed.

Station was most powerfully converted, and he never got

over the shouting proclivity he then acquired. The Statton

family had a lender recollection of the names of George

B. Rimel, John Ruebush, and John Fulkerson. It was the

devout prayer of J. F. Statton that the outpouring of

the Holy Spirit in Pentecostal showers might return to the

church in all her revivals. "Some of the old fellows are

getting awfully tired of the machinery revivals of the pro-

fessional evangelist."

 

Andrew J. Haney entered the conference in 1831. He

opened the mission between Knobby Hills and the South

Branch. Hershey, Markwood, Ruebush, and Fulkerson

followed consecutively. "The College" was healthy, happy,

romantic, the picturesque scenery adding enchantment to

the toil. 1845 was a good year on South Branch, and the

good effects were to be seen many years later. An aged

man dying of cancer asked Fulkerson to preach his funeral

sermon. A day was appointed, the whole country around

gathered, and the preacher talked to them and the sick man

from Isaiah XLVI, 4. The man died within the month.

This was the first and last time he conducted a funeral

 


 

84 UNITED BRETHREN

 

service for a person still living, Haney changed his preach-

ing, from German to English, and though it was a "kind

of mixture," he was still very successful. He made it a

point to look after the young and to interest them in church

activities. His first home as a preacher was with Abraham

Funkhouser, whose two children were taught in English

and this compelled him to converse with them in the same

language. He visited about one hundred families this

year. He rode up to Benjamin Stickley's place and asked

him if he would keep a preacher. "Yes, and his horse too,"

was the response. Haney praised the purity of the water

and though he did not say so, he thought it ran into a very

filthy place. As they turned away from the spring, he

told Stickley he knew of a purer fountain. The distiller

understood the allusion and said Haney must preach here.

Stickley sent out his children to solicit an audience and

fixed seats under the sugar trees near the stillhouse. It

was after this that Stickley became a Christian and tore out

his still. Both Haney and Hershey held meetings at his

house and a number were there converted. Stickley told

others that after Haney preached his first sermon at his

place ho could make no more whiskey, and that what he

had in his barrels leaked out.

 

George E. Deneale was "smart and sharp as a tack," but

once found his equal. He was preaching on a week-day

in a private home and few people were present. At the

end of the sermon the preacher asked all who wanted to

go to heaven to rise to their feet. All stood except Mr.

Slimholt. Deneale then asked all who wished to go to hell

to stand. Slimholt remained seated. The minister was

non-plussed. "You are a strange man. You neither want

to go to heaven or hell. Where do you want to go?"

"When I am regularly dismissed, I want to go home," was

the man's reply.

 

J. Zahn was a good musician and companionable. He

was poor, settled down, and got married. In driving up

to a hotel in Romney he thus addressed the negro porter:

"Monsieur, seize this quadruped by its government,

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 85

 

extricate it from the vehicle, arrange it in a separate de-

partment, polish it with care, give provender according

to debility of its body, and at even I will compensate your

master." The white in the darky's eyes enlarged, his teeth

shone, and he made this remark to the proprietor, who

was inside the hotel office: "Come out, here is a French-

man talking Greek." After supper the negro turned the

tables on Zahn by a demonstration of his powers as a

singer.

 

The following pithy characterization has been made as

to certain of the early preachers:

 

Baer was thoughtful and watchful; Shuey was liberal

and generous; Spessard was feminine and modest; Bachtel

was fearless and independent: Tobey was critical and well

informed; Miles was handsome and animated; Brashear

was a sermon memorizer; Hires was a noble singer and

strong revivalist; Knott Was a giant in exhortation, an

exercise that usually followed a sermon; Rhinehart was

of fine physique, powerful voice, unusual preaching talent,

and tremendous energy in exhortation.

 

William R. Rhinehart was a tall, stately man, attrac-

tive and commanding, a good scribe, a fine singer, a com-

poser and compiler of music, a good organizer, with aggres-

sive spirit and was an incessant worker. At times he lacked

in the use and application of means to the end he had in

view. He was somewhat learned but not finished. At

times he could produce dashes of fine taste and create

drafts of statement with forcible simplicity and general

admiration. Some of his pulpit 'fine sayings' would occas-

ionally turn a somersault, and hastily plunge into a comic

anecdote or illustration bringing his attitude and system

of thought to grate on the minds of the fastidious. Rhine-

hart’s range of thought and influence as an advocate, filled

an extensive sphere in the church. In his palmiest days

he was a power at camp and quarterly meetings. His

silver eloquence, strung upon the golden thread of the

gospel, would sparkle like diamonds before the minds of

his audience and attract a whole camp meeting. He was

 


 

86 UNITED BRETHREN

 

an advanced reformer, first in journalism, first in temper-

ance work, first in the missionary enterprises, a leader in

sabbath school work and pleaded for a better support of

the ministry. He lived and died leaving a fragrant name

in the church.

 

Geo. B. Rimel possessed a fine physique,— healthy,

ruddy, beef-eating appearance,— a notably handsome per-

son. His preaching did not consist in pompous phrases

or brilliant expressions, but terse, good sense and original-

ity. His mind moved like a timber wagon loaded with

Bible facts. The lion-hearted Rimel did some good sub-

soil plowing in the Valley of Virginia, and is still remem-

bered kindly by the people; for with his masculine im-

passioned exhortation he could move the people to tears.

Rimel’s individuality was prominent. Strong and reliant,

he held the truth of his own convictions fast in the face of

all opposition.

 

Joseph M. Hershey in youth was a sizeable man, pos-

sessed emotional emulation. He was bred and born

under the influence of the church, and was decidedly

churchly in his feelings. In dress he was becomingly

costumed, in manners quiet and dignified, occasionally al-

most cold and indifferent, yet domestic in disposition and

loved home and surroundings. As a preacher he was not

a brilliant explorer of the deep things of God, but adorned

his efforts with the force of common sense and aimed at

compactness with some degree of style. The last days

of his life were somewhat foggy, made so by influences

over which he had no control, still we believe he lives

with Jesus.

 

William R. Coursey was a large man with soft blue

eyes, reticent in his social relations to a fault, but con-

versed agreeably on all subjects when you could interest

Mm. His preaching was on the conversational line. He

reasoned softly, tenderly and eloquently, without enthu-

siasm on his part or exciting violent emotions in his hearers,

but pressed the truth to the judgment by solid facts

founded upon nature and good sense, creating in the mind

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 87

 

the sensation of peace and repose. Coursey was one of

the best educated men of his day, and possessed a sweet

disposition. By his moral rectitude and careful habits he

had educated his conscience to be his prompter, which

made him one of the purest and brightest ornaments of

the church in his time. He lived and died with the 13th

chapter of First Cor. for his motto. Glossbrenner addressed

the head to reform the life. Hershey aimed at the im-

agination to produce a quickening, Coursey labored to

reach the understanding, that his people might be instructed

in the way of right living.

 

John Haney was born April 10, 1807: was raised a

German Reformed; was a member of that church when

he began to preach in 1829: joined the Pennsylvania con-

ference in 1830, the Virginia conference in 1831. First

circuit in Virginia, required six weeks and about 100 miles

travel; second year, Haney, Coursey, Glossbrenner and

Hershey travelled together: the third year was made pre-

siding elder and was engaged in extending the work; fol-

lowed Peter Hott and others into Hardy county and opened

the work there. Hershey followed him on that charge.

Sometimes he had thirty appointments. He said in an

experience at the Minnesota conference in 1895, "These

were the happiest days of my life. I had nothing to do but

to gather in the lost sheep of the house of Israel." "I am

a rough man. but the roughest part is on the outside. I

speak my mind right out: but I never allowed my wrath

to see the sun go down. Now my work is done. 1 have

made preparations to leave. 1 have been much alone-

only the Telescope. Oh, bless the Telescope. God bless

you all. I shall not see you again."

 

He never needed to use glasses in reading and writing.

Frederick Hisey died in Edinburg, Va., June 20, 1862,

aged about 71 years. In the midst of the confusion of war

times he was buried in haste and without a funeral sermon.

He was a member of the Virginia conference, always a

local preacher, for about 25 years. He was an excellent

blacksmith and worked at his trade on the main street in

 


 

88 UNITED BRETHREN

 

the centre of the village. His home was the preacher's

home. He was of the strictest integrity and his conversa-

tion was always turned to the religious. He reproved

warned and expounded the Scriptures on the street, at

the shop, and in the social circle, to saint and sinner alike

He died triumphant, endeavoring to sing, "A charge to

keep I have, A God to glorify."

 

 

89

CHAPTER XI

THE TRANSITION FROM GERMAN TO ENGLISH

 

In 1725, probably nineteen-twentieths of the half mil-

lion inhabitants of the Thirteen Colonies were using the

English language exclusively. The Hollanders of New

York and the Swedes of Pennsylvania and Delaware were

fast breaking away from a dependence on the mother

tongue. The Germans in America were as yet few.

 

After the date just mentioned, the German immigra-

tion became heavy and it almost occupied whole counties

between the Hudson and the James. These foreigners were

industrious and thrifty and showed a capacity for sub-

stantial citizenship. But to a great extent they resisted

Americanization, and to a still greater extent they resisted

the adoption of the English language. They exhibited an

extreme tenacity in clinging to the German idiom, especially

in the talk of the home circle. Where Germans lived in

close contact with English-speaking people, and where, as

a consequence, intermarriages were frequent, the foreign

speech slowly yielded. But when a Scotch-Irishman, for

instance, took a German wife, the children were likely to

become German-speaking and thus new territory would be

conquered for the use of an un-American medium of

thought. Too few of the newcomers were so broad-minded

as pastor Pretorius. He wrote his sons that although they

were of a German father, they were nevertheless born in

America, and he pointed out to them that it would be a

shame if they did not use the language of the country.

 

Over a considerable part of Pennsylvania the degenerate

form of German known as Pennsylvania Dutch is still in

daily use. It has no educational value, neither has it any

literary development worthy of mention. But in the Val-

ley of Virginia, those who spoke German and those who

spoke English lived as neighbors, and there was much

intercourse between them. Before the present century

 


 

90 UNITED BRETHREN

 

 

began, the use of German had been almost absolutely

abandoned in this region. There is, however, an area in

the southeast of Pendleton that was settled almost ex-

clusively by Germans. Here are more than a thousand

people, who, in conversing anions themselves, seldom use

anything else than a corrupt jargon now reduced to a very

few hundred foreign words. Not only have these words

lost their grammatical terminations, but the commonest

idea can hardly be expressed without some help from Eng-

lish words. As in the case of the Pennsylvania Dutch, this

crumbling patois serves no necessary or useful purpose

whatever. The people who use it as home talk can neither

understand standard German nor read the huge German

Bibles purchased by their great grandparents. Because

of this devotion to a useless form of speech, the dwellers

in these valleys are superstitious as well as unprogressive.

It holds them back from entering into the full spirit of

American life and American institutions. This group of

people does not include any United Brethren congregations.

As a medium of preaching, the German tongue has been

extinct within the limits of the Virginia Conference for

at least eighty years.

 

Where the German speech has thoroughly and for some

time been discarded, the descendants of the German immi-

grants of the eighteenth century are almost indistinguish-

able from the mass of the American population. Where

this has not been the case, the descendants still exhibit

foreign peculiarities, are reactionary in spirit, and as

Americans are even yet incompletely assimilated.

 

An efficient system of popular education, put into force

at least a century ago, would long since have extinguished

this unfortunate display of obstinate conservatism. Not

until 1870 did Virginia take any effectual step in this direc-

tion. Pennsylvania has been almost as great a laggard.

For many decades both these states were much remiss in

the civic as well as educational duties toward their citizens

of non-British origin. In the colonial era the German

immigrant was tolerated rather than made at home. Too

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 91

 

often he was looked upon as a subject for extortion. In-

stead of seeing that his children, if not himself, developed

into genuine Americans, the propensity of the immigrant

to be clannish was fostered and little Germanys on Ameri-

can soil were unwittingly encouraged.

 

Otterbein was twenty-seven when he arrived in America,

and he continued to preach wholly in German to people

who knew little English. To the last his conversational

English easily betrayed his foreign birth, although he

finally mastered the art of writing English with force and

clearness. Boehm was born in Pennsylvania, but like

Otterbein he preached only in German. To the end of his

long life he could not express himself in English with

much ease. Geeting, the third of the founders of the United

Brethren Church, also confined himself to the German in

his preaching. But Newcomer soon found it necessary to

preach in English as well as in German. As early as 1800

he found that little German was understood at one of his

Virginia appointments. He remarks that though his Eng-

lish was broken it seemed to make some impression. His

audiences in the Valley of Virginia seem often to have

been mixed, and had he not been able to preach or exhort

in the official language of the United States, his efficiency

as a bishop would have been much impaired.

 

So it is not correct to say that until 1820 the preaching

of the United Brethren in Virginia was almost exclusively

in German. But until that date the use of German was in

the lead. Only one decade later, English was fast taking

the place of the foreign tongue. There were several rea-

sons for this growing demand for English preaching. For

forty years after the close of the Revolution the renewed

immigration from Germany was very small, and little of

this small amount settled in the region now covered by

the Virginia Conference. The children of the United Breth-

ren families were often educated in English and not in

German. Such persons would prefer to hear preaching in

the adopted tongue. And by reason of intermarriage, or

the settling in of new comers, in nearly every locality

 


 

92 UNITED BRETHREN

 

where the United Brethren fathers planted societies, there

would be people who understood little German or none

at all.

 

Nevertheless, the church was slow to give up the use

of the foreign speech. Until 1833 German dominated in

the General Conferences. In 1819 a few copies of the

Discipline were printed in English, but it was not until

1837 that this book appeared in English, with the accom-

panying German version looking as though it were a trans-

lation from English to German and not as though the entire

book had been translated from German to English.

 

This tenacity in holding to a language that has no

official recognition in this country worked against the

numerical growth of the United Brethren Church. By

1820 it counted only 20,000 members. During one decade

there was an actual loss. The children of United Breth-

ren parents who clung to the German noticed that the un-

progressiveness of the latter operated as a handicap in the

matter of civic and social opportunities. There was hence

an extensive drift of the younger generation into other

churches, especially the Methodist.

 

But when once the speech of America had obtained the

mastery in the United Brethren pulpits, the decline of the

church was arrested. The falling away in membership

gave place to an increase, this increase coming largely from

the non-German elements of the American people. By

1880 only one-twenty-fifth of the total membership of the

United Brethren were adhering to the German.

 

The United Brethren Church is now a German denomi-

nation only in the sense that a very large majority of its

communicants are of the posterity of the German settlers

of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. But this pos-

terity is now almost entirely American in speech and still

more so in thought. That many people of English, Scotch,

and Welsh descent have joined the United Brethren is not

because of what may still be termed a German complex-

ion, but because of their approval of what the church dis-

tinctively stands for. This non-German element has made

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 93

 

a very noticeable impression on the life of the organiza-

tion. The non-British beginnings of the United Brethren

are no longer felt. In brief, the United Brethren Church of

1920 is as truly an American church, and in as full har-

mony with American thought, as are the branches of

American Protestantism that are purely of British origin.

 

But the deluge of foreigners that has been inundating

America since 1810 has called the attention of this church

to new duties. It is in response to this call that the United

Brethren have entered the field of foreign missions. One

of these fields — very appropriately the German — was

opened in 1869.

 

The United States has no official tongue but the English,

and if the foreigner does not know it on his arrival here,

it is his business to learn it. And yet there is a sense in

which preaching in a foreign tongue to an American con-

gregation is quite proper and even necessary.

 

The thoughts of the newcomer are cast only in the

mould that is peculiar to his mother tongue. His compre-

hension of thought uttered in English is as limping as the

broken English in which he tries to converse with the

natives of his adopted country. If he is denied the privilege

of hearing Scriptural truths expounded in the only idiom

with which he is truly familiar, a positive wrong will be

done him. It is better for the interests of Christianity, and

even for Americanism in general, that he should retain the

option of listening to a preacher who is at home in the

language in which he was himself reared. But unless there

has been positive neglect, on the part of the newcomer or

the community, or both, the need that applies to the for-

eign-born citizen does not apply to his American-reared

children. In them the bridge has been crossed and should

no longer be necessary.

 

It is greatly to the credit of the United Brethren that as

a church they have moved along these very lines; slowly,

it is true, yet so surely and effectively that theirs is almost

the only considerable American sect that does not con-

tinue to reveal unmistakably the original foreign impress.

 


 

94

 

CHAPTER XII

THE CHURCH IN THE WAR OF 1861

 

When the result of the election of 1860 was made public,

the quarrel between North and South came to a head.

Within six more months there was open war between the

sections.

 

In an economic. Or industrial, sense, the territory

covered then by the conference was much more Northern

than Southern. Slaves were few in nearly all its counties,

and were owned by a very small number of the white

people. This was notably the case where the German

element was strongest. The great majority of the farm-

ers worked their land themselves. They had no interest

in slavery and no love for the institution. There was not

the social ban on manual labor that existed in the planting

section of the South. The chief commercial outlet of the

Shenandoah Valley was toward Baltimore and not toward

Richmond.

 

But on the other hand, the dominating political senti-

ment of the entire valley was of the Southern type, although

not unanimous on the subject of secession. Virginia gave

only a few scattering votes for Lincoln. The electoral

vote of the state was thrown to Bell and Everett, the can-

didates of the Constitutional Union party, their ticket being

heavily supported in the Valley counties. On the Mary-

land side of the Potomac, secession was held in the great

disfavor. In the Virginia counties on or near the Potomac

were not a few persons who were equally hostile to the

doctrine. In the war, the Maryland portion was in Con-

federate hands only on three or four occasions, and for a

very few days at a time. As far south as Strasburg and

Front Royal, the Virginia side alternated from one army to

the other, yet was within the Federal lines the greater por-

tion of the four years. Still farther southward, the Valley

was nearly all the while within the Confederate lines. The

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 95

 

military situation was therefore such as to encourage

Unionism in the northern half of the Conference district

and discourage it in the southern half.

 

The stronghold of the United Brethren was first in the

southeast of Pennsylvania and also in the very part of

Maryland that was most hostile to secession. The Church

had been pressing numerously into the West. South of

the Potomac its foothold was very small in area, and

existed only where agriculture was organized about the

same as in the North. As to slavery, we have already seen

that the attitude of the Church was uncompromising. Un-

der all these circumstances, it was inevitable that the United

Brethren, taken in the mass, should have no sympathy with

the Southern program. The small section of the Church

in the two slave states of Maryland and Virginia could not

fail to be out of harmony with the Confederate govern-

ment, and to have sympathetic relations with their much

more numerous brethren in the free states.

 

Thus the 3,000 members of the Conference were placed

in a difficult position. To all intents and purposes they

were undeniably sympathetic toward the Union cause.

Their feelings were no secret to such of their neighbors as

felt it their duty to side with the Confederacy. To them

the United Brethren were what the pro-Germans were to

the loyal Americans of 1914-18. They were held in dis-

trust and subjected to some persecution. Some of their

preachers were jailed, and some others had to flee from

the state they were living in. Some of the members

crossed over into the Federal lines for the primary purpose

of enlisting in the Federal armies. Throughout the north-

ern side of the Mason and Dixon line, the Brethren were

patriotic in the highest degree. To be a Democrat even,

was in some conferences to be under suspicion or in some

instances to be pushed out of the Church, while to be a

secessionist was to receive no quarter.

 

We have observed that the northern portion of the

Conference was usually within the Federal lines, while the

contrary was the case with the southern portion. This

 


 

96 UNITED BRETHREN

 

caused a temporary division of the Conference. During

the four years beginning with 1862, one group of its preach-

ers held sessions within Federal territory, while another

group held sessions in Confederate territory. But as a

rule the membership of the two bodies were not at odds

in political sympathy. They were simply making a virtue

of stern necessity.

 

Bishop Markwood was fiery and uncompromising. No

one could be more fierce in his invective against secession

and everything that was involved with it. There was a

reward for Markwood's arrest, but he made his escape to

the other side of the Potomac. During the war he presided

over the sessions of the northern section of the Conference.

 

Bishop Glossbrenner, who presided over the southern

section, was of another temperament. He was calm and

conservative. There were a thousand or more of the mem-

bers of his church who were at the outset within the limits

controlled by the government at Richmond. With brief

intervals this continued to be the case until the close of

the war. He was convinced that it was his duty to remain

with them and see that they had such advice and protection

as his influence might command. Otherwise, it was cer-

tain that their hardships would be more severe. It speaks

volumes for the well-balanced prudence of the bishop that

in spite of the suspicion in which his sect was held he

would still be able to retain the respect and confidence of

those in Confederate authority.

 

In 1863 he applied for permission to go within the

Federal lines in order to attend the northern section of his

conference and also the Pennsylvania Conference. The

request was granted, although, as a matter of course,

Glossbrenner was enjoined not to convey any information

that might work to the disadvantage of the Confederacy.

He was thus put on his honor and the trust was not abused.

On his return similar restrictions were imposed by the

Federal military authority. Yet there was some difficulty

in getting over the lines, both going and coming.

 

For staying in the South the bishop's motives were

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 97

 

sharply assailed. After the return of peace he was called

upon to defend his course. This he did to the satisfaction

of his critics. He assured them that he had never wavered

in his loyalty to the Federal government. He had told

Stonewall Jackson to his face that he did not wish the

success of the Confederate arms.

 

The United Brethren preachers did not pray for the

success of the Confederacy, yet had to be circumspect if

they were to observe the civil authority in force where they

were. The northern section of the Conference was at full

liberty to pass resolutions in support of the Union cause

and did not hesitate to do so. T. F. Brashear, presiding

elder of the southern district in 1862, prayed for Federal

success at the time the army under General Banks was in

camp around Harrisonburg. But Banks had to retire, and

Brashear had to flee. In 1862 the northern conference sec-

tion passed the resolution that "we deeply deplore the un-

avoidable separation from our brethren in Virginia, and

hope that the time is not far in the future when we shall

be permitted to meet as usual and continue our connection

as hitherto. We will thank God that it is no worse with us

than it is and take courage." Strong resolutions were also

passed in the subsequent sessions.

 

At the end of the war, Markwood exclaimed that there

was no longer a United Brethren church in Virginia. But

this was decidedly an overstatement. The Church in the

Shenandoah valley had seen a very real time of stress, yet

a nucleus had been preserved, and during the war one house

of worship had even been built. This was Salem church

near Singers Glen. But in the devastation that had been

wrought throughout the length of the valley, the mem-

bership that had held together were in poor shape with

respect to church buildings or in the ability to maintain

their preachers. With respect to the paper money of the

Confederate government, they had lost little, since they

did not let it depreciate on their hands. But the close of

the war found them poor, nevertheless. In this emergency

the Marylanders came generously to the relief of their

 


 

98 UNITED BRETHREN

 

brethren on the other side of the Potomac. The war had

not touched them so harshly, yet that they did not come

out unscathed, the following letter, written by Jonathan

Tobey to the Rev. William R. Coursey, will bear witness.

It is dated August 9, 1864, and was mailed from Pleasant

Valley, Maryland.

 

"We suffered much in our county from the late rebel invasion.

It would take volumes to enumerate all their acts of wrong,

cruelty, and barbarism. They justified their conduct saying Gen.

Hunter did so, and so Hunter's conduct in Virginia is not justifiable,

but Johnny reb out done him by far. The Johnies they robbed,

kidnapped, and burned in Maryland. They took all the horses

they could see except some lame ones, and all who did not run

off their horses or hide them lost them. They entered private

homes in the night, and demanded of the citizens their purses,

watches, and so forth. They shot a respectable citizen in his

own house and in his own bedchamber. They plundered all the

stores, took meat away, and much they destroyed. They took

wagons, buggies, and harness. They seemed to be savage in their

manner, quite insulting, and threatening, seemed to look upon the

Maryland people as enemies, and treated them as such. They came

back to the county twice since the first invasion, the last time

took some of our citizens prisoners as hostages, for to have some

of their rebs redeemed. It is unhappy living along the border.—

Religion seems now to (be) almost lost, the people were so much

excited and lost so much that (they) seem discouraged, broken

down."

 

It was asking too much of human nature to expect that

the unpopularity of the Brethren in the Valley of Virginia

could be thrown off in a day. Shortly after the return of

peace. Markwood visited a quarterly meeting at Keezle-

town and was invited to leave. He then went with Simon

Whitesel to a Sunday school and was invited by Whitesel

to address it. The entire audience immediately left, leaving

the two men alone. Yet the unpopularity soon waned and

has long since quite disappeared.

 


 

99

CHAPTER XIII

THE CHURCH IN RECENT TIMES

 

It is now a little more than a half-century since the

close of the great American war. To the Church of the

United Brethren this has been an epoch of expansion.

 

If two lines be drawn from Philadelphia, one to the

northwest corner of the state of Washington, the other to

the southwest corner of California, the space between will

nearly coincide with the territory covered by the church.

The old population to the east, northeast, and southeast is

of non-German origin, and no effort has been made to in-

troduce United Brethrenism in that section. The space

within the angle at the apex is where the Church arose.

Until a time quite recent, the movement of the American

people has been almost exclusively westward. Except in

a very slight degree the membership has not migrated into

New Jersey, New York, or New England, and not in num-

bers sufficient to found churches. Neither has the Church

ever been introduced into the plantation region of the

South, although a reflex wave of settlement of recent date

has placed a few congregations in that part of Virginia

east of the Blue Ridge. But descendants of the original

United Brethren have moved westward very numerously,

and in doing so have established new conferences all the

way to the Pacific shore.

 

As has been pointed out elsewhere in this volume, it

was once the general opinion among the Brethren that

preaching could be done by men who made no preparation

for it and who gained their livelihood at something else.

The laity listened, but did nothing toward the support of

the preacher except to feed him and his horse when he

came around. This was doing no more than they would

have done for a stranger. At length there was a rising

demand for a change, and the time came when it had

to be reckoned with.

 


 

100 UNITED BRETHREN

 

"No wonder the transition to a paid ministry was slow

and hard. The people themselves made money very slow-

ly, and it was their idea that if the preacher had enough to

eke out an existence, he was abundantly supplied. So

the idea has grown slowly that the minister should be made

comfortable with a support sufficient to enable him to

equip himself and do the best work possible, and that this

support is his of right. Unfortunately, the idea does not

yet prevail among us that it is not the minister's business

to see after the collection of his own support, and that it is

the privilege and duty of the laity to see that the minister,

who is the servant of all, be given this support promptly."

 

As to how the church of to-day compares with that of

1850, a correspondent expresses the following opinion,

which may be colored by the pessimism that is liable to

accompany old age: "Three log buildings were owned by

the Church, which elsewhere worshiped in schoolhouses

and private homes. There are now twelve good churches

and a half-interest in four or five others. The increase in

membership is 300 to 400, but no greater than the increase

in population. The circuit covered what is now embraced

in three circuits, a part of another, and also a station.

Piety will have to be discounted fifty per cent."

 

The first church paper was the "Mountain Messenger,"

appearing at Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1833, and edited by

W. R. Rhinehart. Next year he sold out his equipment

and moved to Circleville, Ohio, where he began editing the

"Religious Telescope," the circulation of which was about

1200 copies. In 1815 David Edwards was conducting the

paper on a salary of $350 a year and his house rent. He

wrote editorials on national peace, and against slavery,

secret orders, liquor, and tobacco. The church publishing

house begun here in a very modest way in 1834, was moved

twenty years later to Dayton, Ohio, and has since developed

into one of the most complete establishment of its kind

in the Union.

 

A church paper to represent the Virginia Conference

was agitated as early as 1847. By a vote of 18 to 4, it was

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 101

 

resolved, "that this conference, from the fact that the

Religious Telescope, our church paper, is calculated to

hinder, rather than promote, the church within the bounds

of our conference, in consequence of its containing aboli-

tion matters from time to time, take into consideration

the propriety of publishing within its own borders, a

religious paper for its own benefit." The following year it

was resolved, "that we regard ourselves as having been

misrepresented in the columns of the Telescope during

the past year." The evidences quoted were the article,

"Right Side Up," by the editor, Mr. Edwards. "which we

regard as saying, substantially, that the wrong side was up

at the time being;" and by "Zethar," concerning "'a religion

more refined and less repulsive to the feelings of the fash-

ionable,' which, with its connection, we regard as saying

of us that our resolution proposing to 'consider the

propriety,' etc., approbated upon our part the refinement

and fashionableness related to slavery."

 

These resolutions show, after all, that the Virginia mem-

bership was sensitive on the topic of slavery. That this

membership was but a small part of the total membership

of the church, and that it was resident in a locality not

thoroughly permeated by the slave labor system, were the

conditions that prevented a schism, comparable to that

which took place a few years earlier in the Methodist

Episcopal Church,

 

"The Conference News" was finally established as the

local organ of the Virginia Conference, but it was discon-

tinued in 1911.

 

As to the province of a denominational paper, the pro-

jector of this book made the following observations:

 

"Debate is inherent in democracy. As the highest form

of government, democracy demands the highest intelligence

and the soundest morality. The Puritan experiment in gov-

ernment provided the town meeting and the schoolhouse

by the side of the church.

 

The United Brethren in theory is the most democratic

church in America. Have we made the full, intelligent,

 


 

102 UNITED BRETHREN

 

 

 

and general participation of our people in church govern-

ment one of our distinctive characteristics? Our highest

law-making body is made by the direct vote of our people,

and yet how few voted in the recent election.

 

The forum must be our church paper.

 

The General Conference is one-half ministers (of whom

one-half follow the leaders) and one-half laymen, few of

whom have given thought to church problems or taken an

active part in legislation. These will come with good hearts

but feeling the need of more information. If there is lack

of vision, where's the wonder?"

 

For many years instrumental music in church worship

was held in great disfavor, and so late as 1865 there was

a rule against its use. Neither were there any choirs, and

ministers never thought of reading their sermons. It was

about this time that that stern conservative. Bishop

Edwards, protested against placing an organ in the Sun-

day school at Dayton, Ohio. This prejudice has faded

away, as has also the prejudice against mustaches and long

beards among the ministers.

 

So late as 1845 the Church was taking little interest

in frontier and foreign missions, the reasons being thus

summed up by a minister who began preaching about the

time mentioned: "A want of information concerning the

state of the world, and the little interest the preachers feel

on the subject. There is not the taste for reading among

us there ought to be. Intelligence, liberality, and virtue

generally go hand in hand." And yet foreign missionary

work was begun in 1854, and in the home field still earlier.

There are now missions in Japan, China, Africa, the Philip-

pines and Porto Rico.

 

A mission in Germany was opened in 1869. As a peo-

ple mainly of German origin, the United Brethren would

seem eminently suited to arrest the coming back of the

thinly disguised Teutonic paganism which has been so

painfully in evidence since 1914. Even in the youth of

Otterbein, the German Reformation of the sixteen century

had spent its force. He was himself aware of the wave

of rationalism that was spreading mental and moral ruin

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 103

 

in its haughty and self-sufficient march over Germany.

The established churches of that land were forced into a

subservient attitude toward the state. This is why Spener,

himself a Lutheran, sought comfort in separation from the

ruling elements of life. This explains why he and his fol-

lowers sought to promote inward piety in the restricted

fellowship of kindred souls.

 

The earliest history of the United Brethren Church is

Spayth's, and it did not appear until 1851. It has been

followed by several others, and by many volumes on bio-

graphy and reminiscence.

 

A church paper to represent the narrowing German-

speaking element was started in Baltimore in 1841. The

General Sunday School Board appeared in 1865, the Board

of Education and the Church Erection Society in 1869, and

the Woman's Missionary Association in 1875.

 

The most momentous changes took place in the quad-

rennium, 1885-9. A revised Confession of Faith and a

new Constitution were drawn up in 1885, and voted upon

by the Church in November, 1889. Lay representation now

took effect and the rule as to secret orders was modified.

The time limit was removed in 1893. The vote in the Gen-

eral Conference in favor of the changes was 110 to 20.

It produced the first and only schism that has yet appeared

among the United Brethren. Of the 20 members voting

in the negative, 14 withdrew from the Conference. Among

them was Bishop Wright. They and their followers be-

lieved with entire sincerity that they could not see their

way to an acceptance of what they held to be a serious

departure from the old standards. This wing claimed to

be the real United Brethren Church, and the litigation

which ensued was not finally settled until 1895. The Old

Constitution wing of the United Brethren is an entirely

separate church organization, but has no distinct official

name. In adhering to the Constitution and Confession of

Faith as observed by the whole denomination prior to

1885, the Old Constitution wing adheres to the ban against

secret orders. Some differences in church government

 


 

104 UNITED BRETHREN

 

and management have arisen in the past thirty years, and

a careful conservatism marks this branch in financial and

other matters. The Old Constitution United Brethren are

particularly strong in the West, yet have a membership of

1500 to 2000 within the limits of the Virginia Conference,

grouped in the Augusta circuit and the Highland and North

Fork missions. The number of preaching places is about

20. This church has a college and publishing house at

Huntington, Indiana, and from the latter issues a church

paper, “The Christian Conservator.”

 

With the one exception of the Disciples of Christ, the

Church founded by Otterbein and Boehm is the largest of

the American-born branches of Protestantism. It has

steadily attracted to its fold persons of other than German

descent, and that element in its membership is not incon-

siderable in point of number and influence. The fathers

of organization were averse to founding a new church, and

for a while the United Brethren were quite favorable to a

union with kindred denominations. This feeling is now

much less in evidence owing to a growth in denominational

pride.

 

The United Brethren Church no longer bears a distinct

impress of foreignism. In this particular, not even the

divorce from the German language is so significant as its

refusal to espouse non-resistance as an article in its creed.

An overwhelming majority of the American people detest

war as much as do the Quakers and Mennonites. But they

believe that when war is thrust upon a people, it is as much

the duty of that people to take up arms as it is the duty of

the private citizen to resist the outlaw who wantonly assails

him. They note an inconsistency in the man who pays war

taxes or buys bonds for war purposes, yet is unwilling

to enroll as a soldier.

 

There is a broad distinction between the Germans of

the Germany of to-day and the German emigrants to

America in the eighteenth century. The former have been

hypnotized and indoctrinated by their autocratic leaders

into an implicit belief that their national welfare rests on

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 105

 

ruthless force and wholesale plunder. Genuine Christian-

ity had no place in the program marked out by these lead-

ers. On the other hand, the Germans who came to America

in the half-century 1725-75, were essentially a religious and

democratic people. Many of them were pacifists. All the

non-resistant denominations in America, not excepting

even the Quakers, are directly or indirectly of German

origin. But the non-resistant sect becomes in some meas-

ure a cave of Adullam for the slacker in civic duty. In

pacifist churches of a German origin may be found con-

gregations almost wholly of non-German blood, the in-

fluence leading them here being an easy way to shirk mili-

tary service.

 

The Moravians hold non-resistant principles, and their

missionaries were able to persuade many a war-party of

Indians to turn back. Yet they cheerfully paid taxes for

the cause of American independence, and when their town

of Bethlehem was in danger of attack, they fortified and

provisioned it, and armed themselves. In the same war

Quakers and Mennonites furnished money and provisions,

and many of them became soldiers. In that conflict the

greatest American general except Washington was a son

of Quaker parents.

 


 

106

CHAPTER XIV

MOVEMENTS TOWARD UNION WITH OTHER

CHURCHES

 

The points of resemblance between the United Breth-

ren and the Methodists have often been a subject of com-

ment. In theological belief there is complete accord. Each

body has a record as a revival church and has made much

use of camp meetings. Each uses almost precisely the

same terms throughout in designating the various features

of its organization. Each has its conferences, its quarterly

meetings, and its class meetings. Each has its bishops,

presiding elders, local preachers, and exhorters. Each has

its stations and circuits. Each has a well-developed itiner-

ant system.

 

But the resemblance is almost wholly a matter of coin-

cidence. Neither church is an offshoot of the other.

Identity in purpose and methods has led to a very close

identity in organization.

 

The church of the United Brethren may very truly be

said to begin in that sermon by Otterbein at Lancaster

which marks the turning-point in the character of his

ministry. We do not know the precise year, but 1755 is an

approximate date. Boehm began to preach in 1758. At

the memorable meeting in Long's barn, about 1768, the

movement began to assume tangible form. The confer-

ences of 1789, 1891, and 1800 were a recognition of a state

of things already existing. The new church was in opera-

tion, even if there were not yet an official name or more

than an informal organization.

 

The Wesleyan movement arose in England, and was

introduced into American by Strawbridge, a local preacher

who settled in the north of Maryland about 1765. The

first Methodist class was formed in the city of New York

by Philip Embury and Barbara Heck in 1766. Both these

persons, by the way, were of German parentage. In 1773

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 107

 

the first conference represented only six circuits and fewer

than 1200 members. As an independent church. Method

ism in America began on Christmas day, 1784, with about

15,000 members, nearly nine-tenths of them living in the

South. Thus the area in which the two churches appeared

was nearly the same, the Methodist territory being the

more extensive.

 

Had Otterbein and Boehm used the English tongue ex-

clusively, the founders of the United Brethren movement

and the founders of American Methodism would have been

drawn irresistibly together to work in a single organiza-

tion. It was a Methodist bishop who said that if the mes-

sage of Otterbein had been in English instead of German,

he would have been the logical leader of the general

evangelical movement in this country. But Otterbein,

Boehm, and Geeting preached exclusively in German, and

therefore to people of German birth or parentage. The

early Methodists knew nothing of German, and preached

in English to people who understood English, this class

then including only a small proportion of the German

element. There was consequently little overlapping of

effort, and little ground for jealousy or rivalry. The dif-

ference between the two sects was little else than a differ-

ence in language, and incidentally in national origin. Each

addressed the audience it was best fitted to address, and

left to the sister organization the duty of looking after

other people. That the United Brethren and the Methodist

churches should spring up side by side was therefore the

most natural thing in the world.

 

As there is a striking similarity between these two

bodies, so is there a striking correspondence between Wil-

liam Otterbein and John Wesley. Each man was a thor-

oughly educated scholar. Each grew up in the communion

of a strong ecclesiastical system, to which his attachment

was strong. Nevertheless, the time came when Otterbein

could no longer work within the Reformed Church nor

Wesley within the Church of England. Like Otterbein,

Wesley began preaching before he was an entirely con-

 


 

108 UNITED BRETHREN

 

verted man. The religious destiny of Otterbein was deter-

mined by the small evangelical society of the Pietists, just

as that of Wesley was determined by the small evangelical

sect of the Moravians. Each man discarded the exclusive

use of churchly robes and a churchly pulpit, and went out

to preach extemporaneously wherever he could gather an

audience. The message of each was to the common people,

and the common people heard them. Each was persecuted

by churchmen as well as by the rabble, and each rose above

these hindrances. Neither Otterbein nor Wesley had any

desire to found a new church. Each tried to leaven the

church in which he had been reared, and it was only when

the opposition within that church could not be overcome

that he gave his consent to the necessary measure of set-

ting up a new one. Even then, Otterbein never formally

or of his own accord withdrew from the Reformed Church,

nor did Wesley sever his connection with the Church of

England.

 

But though the broken English of the early United

Brethren gave the early Methodists some trouble in carry-

ing on a conversation, each band of Christians recognized

from the first that the other was made up of fellow laborers

in an identical cause. The difference in language in fact

made for friendship by removing a ground for one sect

to interfere with what the other was doing. In a period

of denominational narrowness and prejudice, it is there-

fore pleasant to note the exceptionally cordial relations

between the United Brethren and the Methodists during the

formative period in the history of each.

 

Between Otterbein, the senior founder of the United

Brethren, and Asbury. the pioneer Methodist bishop, there

was an attachment that was intimate and affectionate. The

latter considered the former to be the foremost theologian

in America. Asbury was instrumental in causing Otter-

bein to go to Baltimore. Otterbein assisted in the ordina-

tion of Asbury, and at the special request of the latter. It

was Asbury who preached the sermon at the funeral of

Otterbein. And as we might suppose, Otterbein had a high

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 109

 

opinion of Wesley and the Methodists.

 

A union of the two churches was thought of at an early

day. But until the close of 1784, the Methodists were a

society within the Church of England. To the fathers of

the United Brethren this was an obstacle. Another objec-

tion was the adherence of the early Methodists to the doc-

trine of apostolic succession. They held that it was wrong

for any preacher to presume to administer the sacraments

unless he had been regularly ordained by a bishop of the

established church, and the doctrine assumes that there

has been an unbroken line of ordination ever since the

days of the apostles. Both objections came to lose all their

force in consequence of the great unlikeness which has

developed between the Methodist Church and the Church

of England.

 

A friendly correspondence looking toward union was

begun by the Methodist conference of 1809, held in Har-

risonburg. This is spoken of in our extracts from New-

comer's Journal. A close cooperation with the Methodists

was given much attention in the United Brethren confer-

ences of 1809 and 1810. By an agreement of 1812, any

meeting-house of either church was open to the other when

the church in possession was not using it. Members of

either church were freely admitted to the class-meetings,

prayer meetings, and love-feasts of the other. German

converts usually went into the United Brethren Church

and English-speaking converts into the Methodist. In 1813

an address signed by Asbury was received from the Metho-

dist conference, and a reply was ordered so as "more and

more to effect a union between the two churches." In

1814 a letter from the Baltimore Conference of the Metho-

dists expressed its gratification at the friendly relations

with the United Brethren, and hoped these relations might

continue.

 

But organic union does not seem to have been strongly

favored on either side. By the word "union" in the United

Brethren letter of 1813 was meant no more than friendly

cooperation. Asbury was a very efficient superintendent.

 


 

110 UNITED BRETHREN

 

but did not bring Methodism into direct touch with those

inhabitants of America who did not speak English.

America was not then a polyglot country. German was

the only other tongue spoken by any considerable number

of white Americans. Even in that day the stubbornness

with which the German element clung to the German

speech was deemed unreasonable and anti-American. And

on the side of the United Brethren it may have been felt

that in consequence of the temperamental and other dif-

ferences between these two groups of Christians, it might

be better if each were to retain its separate organization.

Rut this failure to unite did not lead to a sundering of

fraternal relations. Methodist ministers often visited the

conferences of the United Brethren, and United Brethren

ministers often visited the conferences of the Methodists.

During the war for American Independence the Metho-

dists began to grow rapidly, and it was then that Methodist

preachers began to appear in the German settlements of

Maryland and its neighboring states. These "English

brethren," as they were styled, were gladly received. Even

the wife of Bishop Boehm joined the Methodists and so

did some of her sons.

 

Asbury died in 1816. A Methodist presiding elder, in

an excess of denominational zeal suspended the working

arrangement with the United Brethren, and insisted that

Wesley's rules be strictly followed. One of these rules

prescribed who should and who should not be admitted to

social meetings. It had been necessary in England, because

such meetings, if open, were subject to interruption by

gangs of outlaws. In the America of 1810 no such caution

was necessary and the rule soon became a dead letter.

For a while, the social meetings of the Methodists were

closed against the United Brethren. It is unfortunate that

this reactionary policy arose, yet it has long since passed

away.

 

In the matter of church government, there is a differ-

ence between the United Brethren and the Methodists.

The former regard their system as the more democratic,

and prefer it to the more centrally organized system of

 

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 111

 

the other church. Their bishop is chosen for a term and

not for life; their presiding elders are chosen annually;

their congregations have more control over their local con-

cerns. They regard Methodism as autocratic, and yet the

general efficiency of this feature has contributed very

largely to the phenomenal growth of the sister church.

 

The United Brethren have lost the characteristics that

for several decades marked them out as one of the Ger-

man sects of America. Their very origin as a German sect

is now almost lost to view. But though the points of

difference which once stood in the way of an organic union

with the Methodists have been removed, no action looking

toward a merger has since taken place. But in recognition

of the fact that in spirit and polity the United Brethren are

of the Methodist group of churches, they were invited to

send delegates to the Methodist ecumenical conferences

of 1881 and 1891. For a rather technical reason Bishop

Glossbrenner saw fit to oppose an acceptance.

 

About the year 1800, the Albright Brethren, a German

speaking body of Methodists, seceded from the parent

denomination. In 1813 they had fifteen itinerants and

about eight hundred members. In April of this year Bishop

Newcomer visited the Albright conference and received

a letter to be given the United Brethren conference of the

same year. The latter assembly appointed a committee

of four, which met an Albright committee of the same size

at New Berlin, Pennsylvania. A discussion of several days

did not reach any conclusion. The Albright General Con-

ference of 1816 adopted the name of Evangelical Associa-

tion for their sect, and discussed the proposed union. A

committee of six persons from each church conferred in

1817 at the home of Henry Kumler, but failed to come to

any understanding, and no further negotiations appear to

have been attempted. The Evangelicals thought the work-

ins of the United Brethren itinerancy was too lose.

 

The proposed merging of the United Brethren with the

Cumberland Presbyterians, the Methodist Protestants, and

the Congregationalists, is a matter of very recent history.

 


 

112 UNITED BRETHREN

 

That a union with the last named body did not take place

is very easy to understand. The two denominations have

overlapped only in a very slight degree, and have been very

little acquainted with one another. There is a wide tem-

permental difference in the membership of the two

churches. Among the Congregationalists each local body

is entirely independent of any other and in church govern-

ment is strictly democratic. There is much more in com-

mon between the United Brethren and the two other

denominations. That any merger failed even here is per-

haps due to the denominational pride that makes any form

or degree of church unity very difficult to achieve in prac-

tice, although in theory it may be warmly advocated.

 


 

113

CHAPTER XV

CONCERNING SLAVERY AND INTOXICANTS

 

Slavery existed in all the colonies when the United

Brethren Church was in course of formation. In Pennsyl-

vania the institution never had more than a slight hold,

and after American independence came was soon abolished.

The Western States, into which the church spread, were

free territory by virtue of the famous Ordinance of 1787.

Maryland, Virginia, and Tennessee were slave states until

after the war of 1861 had begun. Therefore, the ground

covered by our church was, until the last-named event,

partly free and partly slave.

 

Yet from the first the sentiment of the church was dis-

tinctly against the institution of slavery. This was partly

because the Germans of America were very generally

averse to holding slaves. It was partly because some of

their sects had religious scruples that stood in the way.

But fundamentally the objection of these people to slavery

had an economic source. The United Brethren were

not generally large land owners but small farmers. Such

men had no place for slavery. Without exception, all the

counties in which our church arose were overwhelmingly

white in population, and consequently the actual number

of slaveholders in them was very small.

 

The General Conference of 1817 was held in Pennsyl-

vania and adopted a rule on slavery which is stated in very

explicit and energetic language. It resolved that “all

slavery, in every sense of the word, be totally prohibited

and in no way tolerated in our community." Members

of the church who were holding slaves at the time were

required to set them free, or to ask the quarterly confer-

ence to determine how long a slave might be held in order

that the owner might thus be compensated by labor for

his purchase-money, or the cost of raising the negro. And

 


 

114 UNITED BRETHREN

 

in no case should a member sell a slave. A reprimand

was to follow any violation of this rule, and if the reprimand

were not observed, expulsion was to follow. It is to be

noted that this rule was adopted just after the enactment

of the Missouri Compromise, and therefore at a time when

the line between free and slave territory was sharply

drawn.

 

The rule of 1817 remained in force and was closely

observed. It was enforced by Bishop Glossbrenner against

his own father-in-law. Some persons thought the rule

should not have been so drastic, and in certain circum-

stances, as when slave property was inherited, it worked

some hardship. There was, indeed, in the Virginia Con-

ference an element that disapproved of the rule on slavery

as well as on secret societies. Nevertheless, the position

taken by the leaders of the church was so well sustained

that there was no schism, such as occurred in the Methodist

Episcopal Church.

 

When the United Brethren Church was taken root in

the Valley of Virginia, slavery had relatively a much

weaker hold in that district than in 1860. And as white

labor was there still general at the latter date, the church

was able to hold its ground. But the slave power was

politically dominant throughout the South, and any sect

holding a pronounced anti-slavery attitude was certain to

be under suspicion as an ally of the abolition sentiment in

the North. Thus, until 1860, the United Brethren were

never able to spread much beyond that area in Virginia

which was covered by them in 1800. Nowhere else in the

South did they gain a foothold, save in the valley of East

Tennessee. Now that slavery is gone, there is outwardly

no reason why the United Brethren should not win new

territory in the South. Yet their lack of harmony with

the prevailing sentiment of the South continues to render

that section: closed field. The church has been shut out

of the South by its stand on slavery, and out of the cities

by its stand on secret fraternities.

 

"Forty years before the civil war the General Confer-

ence made slavery a test of membership. No man who

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 115

 

owned slaves and would not arrange to free them, could

remain a member of the church. This rule was never

modified, but its enforcement was the more demanded as

the abolition sentiment in the country grew in force and

intensity. This, of course, kept the church out of the

South, except in the north of Virginia, where the church

had been carried by the German settlers before the ques-

tion of slavery attracted public attention. The Germans

worked with their hands, and did not own or employ

slaves, except in rare cases where a house woman or a

farm hand was owned as the most available way of securing

needed help in a community where slave labor was the

rule. This was winked at only during the civil war, when

other labor could not be had. Otherwise, it was not

tolerated. Christian Shuey, who gave the land and assisted

largely in building Bethlehem church near Swoope Depot,

was a small slave owner. Although he was reared in a

home where the fathers preached, and although he was the

class leader and mainstay of his congregation, his son and

his son-in-law enforced the church law against him, and

expelled him from membership in his own church. How-

ever, the question of character was not involved in this

violation of church law, for Christian Shuey remained loyal

to his church and was its standby until his death. He con-

tinued to be the leader of the class from which he was

technically expelled."

 

In the matter of intoxicants the position taken by the

United Brethren from the first is highly creditable. The

German settlers of the eighteenth century were a temperate

people. They did not have the beer-loving propensity of

the modern German, a habit which has made that element

in America a laggard in the march of prohibition. Again,

the United Brethren put themselves on record at a time

when the drinking habit lacked little of being universal

in this country.

 

It is often asserted that in the "good old days" liquor

was purer than it is now, and that although drinking was

prevalent, intoxication was rare. The statement is echoed

 


 

116 UNITED BRETHREN

 

time after time, as though its truth were unquestionable.

And yet its only foundation is a mirage; an illusion of

human nature that is very aptly expressed in the following

couplet:

      Tis distance lends enchantment to the view,

And robes the mountains in their azure hue.

 

The only solid fact in the statement mentioned is that

in those "good old days,"— about which, by the way, there

is so much of humbug — the intoxicating element in liquor

was generally alcohol, and not so much as now, a com-

pound of corrosive chemicals. Alcohol is alcohol, the

world over, and its effects on the human system are but

slightly influenced by climate or race. Instead of actual

drunkenness being less frequent than now, it was more

frequent. The authority for this assertion is abundant

and unimpeachable. Washington said in 1789 that drink

was the ruin of half the workmen in America. An eminent

French visitor of the same period said that the most com-

mon vice of the inferior class of the American people was

drunkenness. The Continental Congress of 1777 passed a

resolution that the state legislatures should at once pass

laws “the most effectual for putting a stop to the pernicious

practice of distilling grain." But this resolution was too

far in advance of the public sentiment of the day and was

laid on the table.

 

In our time it requires no high degree of courage to

denounce the rum trade, for the simple reason that the

business is now under the ban of the best public opinion.

But a century ago the traffic was so strongly entrenched

in the social customs of even the best classes of society

that the person presuming to antagonize it was called a

visionary or a fanatic.

 

The decanter was then in almost every home. Tem-

perance sermons were not preached, neither were there

any temperance societies. High church officials drank to

intoxication. Drinking was carried on at marriages, births,

and burials. When a doctor visited a patient he was offered

a dram. Speaking in 1820, a pastor in the city of New

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 117

 

York said it was difficult to make pastoral visits for a day

without becoming intoxicated. Dr. Daniel Dorchester

quotes a minister of that period as saying he could count

up among his acquaintances forty ministers who were

drunkards, or who were so far addicted to the use of

drink that their usefulness was impaired. Coming nearer 

home, all but one of the eight deacons of a certain church

were in 1839 actively engaged in distilling whiskey. And

this was within the present bounds of the Virginia Con-

ference.

 

And yet we find the United Brethren Conference rul-

ing — as early as 1814 — that "every member shall abstain

from strong drink, and use it only on necessity as medi-

cine." Seven years later, the General Conference ruled

that "neither preacher nor lay member shall be allowed

to carry on a distillery." Outside of our church there is

in American history no ecclesiastical action on record of

earlier date than 1811. The one of 1811 took place in

New England, and exerted very little influence outside.

It was not until 1826, when the American Temperance

Society was organized, that the evangelical churches of the

United States put themselves on record as opponents of

the liquor trade. In 1841 came the adoption by the United

Brethren of the rule which declares that "the distilling,

vending, and use of ardent spirits as a beverage shall be

and is hereby forbidden throughout our society." The

Church thus became a total abstinence society, and such

it has ever since remained.

 

Nevertheless, the early restrictive legislation was not

always heeded. The conference of 1831 took this action

concerning one of its members: "Resolved, if Conrad

Weist don't quit making liquor and preach more, he shall

have his license demanded." Evidently this remedy was

not effective, for six years later it is ordered that "it be

published in the Telescope that Conrad Weist is no longer

a preacher among us."

 

As in the case of alcohol, the use of tobacco is no more

nor less than a phase of the drug habit. In this matter

 


 

118 UNITED BRETHREN

 

the United Brethren early took advanced ground, notwith-

standing the fact that this denomination arose in a tobacco-

growing region, and likewise where the tobacco habit has

always been very prevalent. The objection raised within

the Church is that the habit is unhealthful, unsanitary,

unnecessary, an offense to neatness, and particularly un-

becoming in a minister.

 

In 1867 this resolution was adopted: "That the minis-

ters of the Virginia Conference be advised to discontinue

the habit of using tobacco in all its forms." Since then

tobacco has repeatedly been denounced on the floor of

conference. At the present time it is tacitly understood

that applicants for admission to that body are expected

to be abstainers from the weed, and that persistence in

the habit by the older members operates as a bar to their

advancement to high position.

 


 

119

CHAPTER XVI

CONCERNING SECRET SOCIETIES

 

In the century in which we live, secret fraternities are

numerous. In the early years of the United Brethren

church there were very few of them. The Masonic order

was vastly more conspicuous than any other. As new

societies arose, they were regarded as directly or indirectly

the oftspring of the Masonic by those persons who were

opposed to secret societies in general.

 

Otterbein and Boehm were in agreement with Wesley

in holding secret fraternities in much disfavor. As a class,

the Germans in America were very hostile to Freemasonry.

It thus followed that for several decades there was very-

general opposition to secret orders within the United

Brethren church.

 

It was held that if there is anything good in secrecy,

the public need not be kept in ignorance; and that if there

is anything bad in it, the bad ought not to be shielded by

an oath-bound veil. The claims of Masonry — thought

to be anti-Christian and of no divine origin. To the Men-

nonite element the Masonic oaths were an offense. It was

held to be sinful for the initiate to swear to obey a code

of laws he was not acquainted with. As to the promise

made to the person about to enter the order - that there

is nothing in its oaths to do violence to his duties to him-

self, his country, and his God - it was held that this was

a mere man-made opinion and not necessarily correct

And the admission by the Masons that the name of Jesus

may not be used in their services was viewed as a stumb-

ling-block that could not be surmounted.

 

In 1826 one William Morgan, a man residing in the

west of New York, was known to be on the point of

publishing a book that purported to be an exposure of

Freemasonry. He was abducted and never again heard

Of, What became of him is still a secret to the world at

 


 

120 UNITED BRETHREN

 

large, but the opponents of the order were convinced that

Morgan was put out of the way and his body sunk in

Lake Erie. There was great excitement over the matter

throughout the United States. A new political party was

formed — the Anti-Masonic — and in one presidential elec-

tion, it carried the state of Vermont.

 

Within the United Brethren Church the opposition to

Masonry did not begin with the Morgan affair. Several

months earlier the Miami Conference resolved by a unani-

mous vote that it would bear with those of its brethren

who had already joined the Masons, so long as they did

not attend Masonic lodges; but that if any member sub-

sequently joined the order he should be expelled. Three

years later, the General Conference resolved by a unani-

mous vote that "in no way or manner shall Freemasonry

be approved or tolerated in our church," and that "if any

member join the Freemasons, such member, by such an

act, excludes himself from membership in our church."

 

At this time the grounds of the opposition against the

Masons were substantially the same as the following digest

of the charges formulated by a convention of men who

had withdrawn from the fraternity.

 

These men declared that Masonry assumes to exercise

a jurisdiction over the citizens of any country in which it

exists; that it claims the right to punish its members for

offense unknown to the laws of our nation; that it con-

ceals crime and the person committing the crime; that

it provides opportunity for plots against persons and the

very government itself; that it encourages crime by pro-

viding ways for the guilty to escape; that it assumes un-

republican titles and dignities and creates odious aristo-

cracies; that it blasphemes the name of God and makes

the Bible subserve its own concern; that by a profane use

of religious forms it destroys a veneration for religion;

that it promotes idleness and intemperance; that it accumu-

lates at the expense of the indigent, funds to be used in

dissipation; that it contracts human sympathy by con-

ferring its favors and its charities on its members only.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 121

 

But new fraternities appeared, and during the last

eighty years they have become increasingly numerous.

The Sons of Temperance, the pioneer of the anti-liquor

secret societies, arose in 1842. Many of the younger peo-

ple among the United Brethren went into its "divisions"

(lodges) in the belief that the considerations urged against

Masonry could not apply to a society whose leading aim

was to further a cause very dear to the Church. And

there were other persons in the denomination who were

restive under the rulings on secret orders, and did not

always observe them, even with respect to Masonry. This

was particularly the case within the domain of the Vir-

ginia Conference.

 

As against the claims presented against the Masonic

and other orders in a preceding paragraph, we now quote

the substance of an address by Jacob Bachtel before the

General Conference of 1849. In this session the rule that

stood in the Discipline until 1861 was presented. It was

adopted by a vote of thirty-three yeas and two nays.

Bachtel and Markwood were the delegates voting in the

negative. Burtner, the third delegate, was neutral. Mr.

Bachtel spoke as follows:

 

'This report includes all secret orders. I am not much,

if any, opposed to Masonry, and can not and will not

turn a man out of the church, or refuse him admission

to the church, on account of his being a Mason. I can not

turn the Odd-fellows out or reject them. The object of

the Sons of Temperance is grand, noble, and benevolent.

They have done much good in Virginia, and have been

the means of reforming many drunkards. Their secrecy

is no just ground of objection. The disciples had secrets;

warriors have secrets; the Church has secrets; annual

conferences have secrets; sometimes it is necessary for

them to have secret sessions, and there ought to be more.

These societies must have secrets, or tests, to secure them-

selves against fraud and imposition. The passage of this

resolution will nearly ruin the church in our conference."

 


 

122 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Within the United Brethren Church, two wings, styled

the radical and the liberal, were now arrayed against each

other. The radicals held inflexibly to the traditional policy

of the church. They conceded that not all fraternities

might be harmful in tendency, but they did object to

letting down the bars. They insisted that the new societies

imitated the mechanism of the Masonic order. They also

insisted that the essence of secrecy is the same, whatever

the avowed or unavowed objects, and that secrecy muzzles

freedom of opinion. They thought it better for the church

to keep clear of all fraternities, so that ministers and mem-

bers might be free to utter their honest, untrammeled opin-

ion at any time, and without asking the permission of

any secret organization whatever. They thought that

serious complications with respect to church discipline

might result if all restrictions were withdrawn. The

liberals, on the other hand, maintained that a rigid, un-

compromising rule was unwise and not in harmony with

the spirit of the age. Their ranks were largely recruited

from the non-German elements in the church membership.

But the popular feeling against the Masons subsided.

This ancient order maintained its ground, and many new

fraternities arose. Meanwhile, the liberal element within

the United Brethren Church grew stronger and stronger,

and in 1885 was able to secure the adoption of the modified

rule which is now in force. This rule runs as follows:

 

A secret combination, in the sense of the Constitution, is a secret

league or confederation of persons holding principles and laws

at variance with the Word of God, and injurious to Christian

character as evinced in individual life, and infringing upon the

natural, social, political, or religious rights of those outside its pale.

 

Any member or minister of our Church found in connection

with such combination shall be dealt with as in other cases of

disobedience to the order and discipline of the Church.— in case

of members, as found on page 23 of Discipline in answer to the

third question of Section E, Chapter IV, and in case of ministers,

as found in Chapter VI, Section 13, page 65.

 

Men of the type of Bishop Edwards were fierce in their

denunciation of secret orders in general and the Masonic

in particular, and that positive-minded man never receded

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 123

 

from his opinion. The stand taken by the Church was at

first quite unanimously upheld and was very long con-

tinued. It operated to very nearly exclude the Church

from the centers of population and cause it to be a church

of the rural sections almost wholly. In a large sense this

is still the case. Yet at the present time, there is no active

hostility to secret fraternities, and members of the church

feel free to connect themselves with such as are obviously

not antagonistic to the public welfare.

 


 

124

CHAPTER XVII

LIST OF PREACHERS: CHRONOLOGICAL

1800-1921

 

1800.— Dietrich Aurand, Jacob Baulus, Martin Boehm,

Henry Boehm, Christian Crum, Henry Crum, Abraham

Draksel, John Ernst, C. Fortenbaugh, Jacob Geisinger,

Christopher Grosh, George A. Guething, Simon Herre,

Abraham Hershey, Christian Hershey, Abraham Hiestand,

Martin Kreider, Adam Lehman, Abraham Mayer, John

Neidig, Christian Newcomer, Isaac Niswander, William

Otterbein, Adam Riegel, Frederick Schaeffer, Benedict

Schwope, John Senseny, David Snyder, Daniel Strickler,

Michael Thomas, Henry Weidner – 31.

 

1801.— Ludwig Duckwald, Peter Kemp, Matthias Kes-

      sler, David Long, Peter Senseny, Thomas Winter — 6.

 

1802.— William Ambrose — 1.

 

1803.— George Benedum, Valentine Flugel — 2.

 

1804.— Matthias Bortsfield — 1.

 

1805.— Christian Berger, Jacob Dehof, Frederick Duck-

wald, Lorenz Eberhart, Daniel Troyer — 5.

 

1806.— Joseph Hoffman — 1.

 

1807.— Abraham Niswander — 1.

 

1808.— Henry Duckwald, George Hoffman — 2.

 

1809.— Christian Smith, John Snyder — 2.

 

1810.- Herman Ow — 1.

 

1811.— Michael Baer, Michael Hershey, Henry Hiestand,

Joseph Jordan, Peter Swartz, Jacob Winter — 6.

 

1812.— Valentine Baulus, George A. Geeting Jr., John

Kreider, John Smith, Henry G. Spayth — 5.

 

1813.— John Brown, Charles Hassel — 2.

 

1814.— John Baer, Henry J. Fry, John Geisiniger, George

Kolb, Henry Kumler, John Rathfang, Jacob Wenger — 7.

 

1815.— Samuel Brandt, Jacob Flickinger, Valentine His-

key, Peter Swartz — 4.

 

1816.— William Brown, Jacob Flickinger — 2.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 125

 

1817.— Jacob Brazer, William Brown, George Brown,

David Fleck, John Hildt, Conrad Roth — 6.

 

1818.— Daniel Pfeifer, Daniel Gingerich, Abraham

Horner, Jacob Lehman, John Russell, J. Zentmeyer — 6.

 

1819.— Conrad Weist — 1.

 

1820.— David Baer, Jacob Baer, John Brown, Jacob

      Dunahoo — 4.

 

1821.— Henry Burtner, John Clopper, John Huffer,

      Christian Traub — 4.

 

1822.— Thomas Hutlin, John Rider — 2.

 

1823.— Jacob Erb, John Hoffard, Abraham Huber,

      Gideon Smith — 4.

 

1824.— Lorenz Esterlein, James Ewig — 2.

 

1825.— John Fry, John Hendricks, Abraham Hershey,

John Krack, William Rhinehart, Christian Shopp, James

Snyder, John Zahn — 8.

 

1825(Second session).— Ezekiel Boring, Daniel Godnatt,

Peter Habecker, Jonah Hank, Henry Kimmerling, Thomas

      Miller — 6.

 

1826.— John Hoffman — 1.

 

1827.— John Eckstein, George Hiskey, John Hugel — 3.

 

1828.— Samuel Allenbaugh, Joseph Berger. John Dehof,

Frederick Gilbert. George Gilbert, Henry Huber, William

Kinnear, Moses Lawson, William Schottle, John Smith,

James Sutton, Richard Catlow — 12.

 

1829.— Christian Crawling, John Dorcas, James Ewig,

Peter Harman, Henry Higgins, William Knott, James New-

man, Daniel Senseny, David Winters, Noah Woodyard — 10.

 

1830.— Charles Boehm, John Haney, Herman Hauk,

George Huffman, John Potts, Jacob Rinehart, Peter White-

sel, Henry Young — 8.

 

1831.— Jacob J. Glossbrenner, Jacob Haas, Frederick

Hisey, William Miller — 4.

 

1832.— Joseph M. Hershey, George Rimel — 2.

 

1833.— William R. Coursey, George A. Shuey — 2.

 

1834.— Jacob Bachtel, Jacob Baer, George E. Deneale,

Francis Eckard — 4.

 

1835.— Adam I. Bovey, Martin L. Fries, Daniel Funk-

 


 

126 UNITED BRETHREN

 

      houser, David Jackson, Jacob Minser, David S. Spessard,

Jonathan Tobey — 7.

 

1836.— Moses Michael — 1.

 

1837.— Frederick A. Roper, Charles W. Zahn — 2.

 

1838.— William Edwards, Jacob Markwood, John Rich-

ards — 3.

 

1839.— Henry Jones, Robert G. H. Levering, John Rue-

bush, Samuel Zehrung — 4.

 

1840.— John Pope, Benjamin Stickley — 2.

 

1841.— Joseph S. Grimm — 1.

 

1842.— Jacob C. Spitler, Emanuel Witter — 2.

 

1843.— James E. Bowersox, Andrew J. Coffman, John

W. Fulkerson, William Lutz — 4.

 

1844.— David O’Farrell, Joseph Funkhouser, John Gib-

bons, James W. Miles, John G. Steward — 5.

 

1845.— Richard Nihiser — 1.

 

1846.— John Markwood, Jacob Rhinehart — 2.

 

1848.— George O. Little, George W. Statton — 2.

 

1849.— Theodore F. Brashear — 1.

 

1850.— John W. Perry, Abel Randall, Isaac K. Statton,

H. B. Winton — 4.

 

1851.— W. T. Lower, L. W. Matthews — 2.

 

1853.— Levi Hess, John Phillips, John F. Statton — 3.

 

1854.— Samuel Martin, Henry Tallhelm — 2.

 

1855.— Isaiah Baltzell, William H. H. Cain, Benjamin

Denton, Zebedee Warner, J. P. White — 5.

 

1856.— G. W. Albaugh, Jacob A. Bovey, H. R. Davis,

Cornelius R. Hammack, Eli Martin, William Yerkey — 7.

 

1857.— Samuel Evers, Joseph Holcomb, John W. Howe,

William James, George W. Rexrode, Jacob M. Rodruck — 6.

 

1859.— John Delpha, James T. Hensley, T. S. McNeil — 3.

 

1860.— W. A. Jackson — 1.

 

1861.— T. Bushong, Joshua Harp — 2.

 

1862.— Henry A. Bovey, J. M. Canter, Abram M. Evers,

James W. Hott, John K. Nelson, Charles T. Stearn — 6.

 

1863.— John W. Grimm, John W. Kiracofe — 2.

 

1864.— W. J. Miller, George H. Snapp — 2.

 

1865.— William O. Grimm, P. H. Thomas — 2.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 127

 

1866.— J. Elkanah Hott — 1.

 

1867.— Jacob L. Grimm, George W. Howe, Snowden

      Scott — 3.

 

1868.— Isaiah Baltzell — 1.

 

1869.— William H. Burtner, George Harman, Abram

      Hoover — 3.

 

1870.— George W. Brown, John N. Ross — 2.

 

1871.— John R. Funk — 1.

 

1872.— Abraham P. Funkhouser, Erasmus P. Funk, J.

W. Funk, Charles M. Hott, J. Negley, P. W. Weller, James

      E. Whitesel, J. Zarman — 8.

 

1873.— C. I. B. Brane — 1.

 

1874.— D. Barnhart, William Beall, J. N. Fries, J. G.

Humphreys, George W. Kiracofe, Charles Miller, Zimri

Umstot, I. M. Underwood — 8.

 

1875.— W. H. Clary, A. D. Freed, Henry Jones, Monroe

F. Keiter, George J. Roudabush, Jacob R. Roudabush — 6.

 

1876.— Isaac T. Parlett, C. W. Stinespring, S. T.

Wells— 3.

 

1877.— John D. Donovan, John M. Hott, J. E. Widmeyer,

Sylvester K. Wine — 4.

 

1878.— William R. Berry, Charles H. Crowell, Isaac T.

Hott, Charles W. Hutsler, E. Ludwick, John H. Parlett — 6.

 

1879.— B. F. Cronise, George P. Hott — 2.

 

1880.— J. A. Evans, William Hesse, Abram M. Horn,

J. G. Ketterman, M. L. Mayselles, M. A. Salt, Samuel H.

      Snell — 7.

 

1881.— John M. Bolton, C. P. Dyche, William O. Fries,

James W. Hicks, W. L. Martin, W. H. Sampsell — 6.

 

1882.— Luther O. Burtner, P. J. Lawrence — 2.

 

1883.— Albert Day — 1.

 

1885.— Rudolph Byrd, N. F. A. Cupp, Harness H. Fout,

William S. Rau, J. E. B. Rice, Silas D. Skelton — 6.

 

1886.— A. S. Castle, Green B. Fadeley, Abram S. Ham-

mack, Alexander N. Horn, Nimrod A. Kiracofe — 5.

 

1887.— T. K. Clifford, George M. Gruber, William F.

      Gruver — 3.

 

1888.— W. P. Bazzle, George W. Stover — 2.

 


 

128 UNITED BRETHREN

 

1889.— J. D. Chamberlain, William O. Ewing, Jacob C.

S. Myers, Edgar A. Pugh, Samuel L. Rice — 5.

 

1890.— R. L. Dorsey, Julius R. Fout, J. F. Snyder — 3.

 

1891.— B. P. S. Busey, Edgar W. McMullen — 2.

 

1892.— John W. Maiden — 1.

 

1893.— J. W. Walter — 1.

 

1894.— James W. Brill, Otto W. Burtner, Walter L.

Childress, S. D. Dawson, S. R. Ludwig — 5.

 

1895.— C. D. Bennett, W. H. Bruce, Samuel A. Crabill,

William O. Jones, H. E. Richardson, A. J. Secrist — 6.

 

1897.— William A. Black, John H. Brunk, George M.

Jones, Lan Seng Nam, L. A. Racey, J. W. Stearn — 6.

 

1898.— Luther O. Bricker, T. J. Feaster, A. R. Hendrick-

son, A. P. Walton — 4.

 

1899.— Charles M. Good, T. C. Harper, Ida M. Judy,

E. A. Stanton — 4.

 

1900.— E. A. Stanton, T. C. Carter, W. S. Rau — 3.

 

1901.— J. R. Ferguson, W. B. Keeley — 2.

 

1902.— W. D. Good, Geo. Burgess, S. E. Boyd — 3.

 

1903.— J. L. Argenbright, E. E. Neff, A. G. Wells — 3.

 

1904.— W. M. Maiden — 1.

 

1905.— A. R. Wilson, A. R. Vondersmith, C. J. Racey, J.

Ralph Geil, R. N. Sypolt, John D. Scott, G. J. Rouda-

bush — 7.

 

1907.— W. R. Chapman, W. D. Mitchell, A. L. Maiden — 3.

 

1908.— T. T. Tabb — 1.

 

1909.— R. G. Hammond, T. M. Sharp, H. E. Richardson,

Clayton Wyand — 4.

 

1910.— F. R. Chubb, Wm. Vansickle — 2.

 

1911.— L. C. Messick, A. R. Mann, Geo. A. McGuire,

I. Summers — 4.

 

1912.— D. G. Brimlow — 1.

 

1913.— R. N. Young, W. L. Hamrick, A. Bamford — 3.

 

1914.— R. Rock, S. L. Baugher, J. W. Wright — 3.

 

1915.— T. E. Gainer, W. G. McNeill, D. T. Gregory, J.

H. Schmitt, H. M. Crimm, J. R. Collis, F. A. Tinney — 7.

 

1916.— W. R. Swank, D. F. Glovier, V. L. Phillips, W. B.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 129

 

      Obaugh, M. W. Nelson, J. R. Beale, D. D. Brandt, W.

      A. Wilt — 7.

 

1917.— T. J. Coffman, W. H. Smith, C. W. Hiser, W. R.

McKinney, J. E. Oliver, L. G. Bridges, W. P. Holler, W. M.

      Courtney — 8.

 

1918.— M. L. Weekley, J. H. Arnold, J. R. Chamber-

      lain — 3.

 

1920.— H. P. Ruppenthal, E. E. Miller — 2.

 

1921.— Claude Ryan, Herman Grove, Lester M. Leach,

C. W. Tinsman, E. P. Caplinger, U. P. Hovermale, C. K.

Welsh — 7.

 

 

 

 

The following list, with the date of joining the confer-

ence, gives the names and address of all living former

members of the Virginia Conference, as far as we are able

to ascertain, and we believe it is exactly correct.*

 

1830.— John Haney, Marion, Minn.

1843.— John W. Fulkerson, Marion, Minn.

1844.— James W. Miles, Baldwin, W. Va.

1848.— Geo. W. Statton, Monte Vista, Colo.

1850.— I. K. Statton, Lisbon, Iowa.

1854.— Henry Tallhelm, Edinburg, Va.

1859.— James T. Hensley, Marion, Ohio.

1860.— William A. Jackson, Glen Savage, Pa.

1861.— T. F. Bushong, Eldorado, Ohio.

1861.— Joshua Harp, Benevola, Md.

1862.— Henry A. Bovey, Potsdam, Ohio.

1862.— Chas. T. Stearn, York, Pa.

1862.— Abram M. Evers, Hagerstown, Md.

1863.— J. Wesley Grimm, West Fairview, Pa.

1863.— J. Wesley Kiracofe, Greencastle, Pa.

1864.— William J. Miller, Lebanon, Kans.

1864.— Geo. H. Snapp, Mt. Olive, Va.

1867.— J. L. Grimm, Harrisburg, Pa.

1871.— John R. Funk, Lancaster, Pa.

1872.— J. W. Funk.

1873.— C. I. B. Brane, Lebanon, Pa.

1874.— Geo. W. Kiracofe, Chincoteague Isle, Va.

 


 

130 UNITED BRETHREN

 

1874.— William Beall, Berkeley Springs, W. Va.

1874.— I. M. Underwood, Adeline, 111.

1875.— M. F. Keiter, Huntingdon, Ind.

1875.— Geo. J. Roudabush, Myersville, Md.

1876.— C. W. Stinespring, Frederick City, Md.

1877.— J. F. Hott, Long Glade, Va.

1878.— Chas. W. Hutsler, 1035 N. 12th St., Philadelphia, Pa.

1878.— F. Ludwick, Middletown, Pa.

1880.— William Hesse.

1880.— S. H. Snell, Keedysville, Md.

1880.— M. L. Mayselles, Munson, W. Va.

1880.— M. A. Salt, Florin, Pa.

1881.— W. O. Fries, Fostoria, Ohio.

1881.- W. L. Martin, Thurmont, Md.

1881.— John M. Bolton.

1881.— J. W. Hicks, Chicago Junction, Ohio.

1882.— Luther O. Burtner, Hagerstown, Md.

1883.— Albert Day, Marietta, Ohio.

1885.— Rudolph Byrd, Chewsville, Md.

1885.— H. H. Fout, Dayton, Ohio.

1885.— J. E. B. Rice, Boonsboro, Md.

1886.— N. A. Kiracofe, Pequea, Pa.

1886.— A. N. Horn, Fayetteville, Pa.

1887.- Geo. M. Gruber, Hagerstown, Md.

1880.— J. B. Chamberlain, Washington, D. C.

1880.— Samuel L. Rice, Keedysville, Md.

1890.— Julius E. Fout, Fostoria, Ohio.

1897.— Lau Seng Nam, Canton, China.

 

*This compilation was made for the United Brethren Centennial

of 1900.

 


 

131

CHAPTER XVIII

LIST OF PRFACHERS: ALPHABETICAL

1800-1900, Inclusive

 

The date following a name indicates the year in which

it first appears on the Conference roll. A star following

the date 1800 shows that the preacher was a member in

that year or was licensed at that time.

 

Abbreviations: d.— died; ord.— ordained; trans.—

transferred; M. E.— Methodist Episcopal; M. E. C. S.—

Methodist Episcopal Church, South; Presb.— Presbyter-

ian; Ref.— German Reformed; Ch.— church; b.— born; O.

C.— United Brethren, Old Constitution.

 

Albaugh, G. W.— 1856— withdrew under charges.

 

Allenbaugh, Samuel— 1828— ord. 1834— withdrew irreg-

ularly, 1842, and joined the Lutherans— lived on Bowman

place between Whitesel's and Harrisonburg— came from

Pendleton— helped Shickle and Biddle in great meeting at

Frieden's.

 

Ambrose, William— 1802— see Chap. XX.

 

Aurand, Dietrich— 1800*.

 

Bachtel, Jacob- 1831— ord. 1837— d. 1866 aged 54—

buried at Otterbein, Jackson Co., W. Va.

 

Baer, Michael— 1811— lived near Chambersburg, Pa.

 

Baer, John —1814.

 

Baer, David— 1820— ord. 1822— d. at Potts Valley, Pa.,

1853.

 

Baer, Jacob— 1820— d. 1823 (?).

 

Baer, Jacob— 1834— ord. 1837— came from Md. (?) —

b. 1807, d. 1855— buried at Churchville, Va.— widow mar-

ried John Smith.

 

Baltzell, Isaiah— 1855— ord. 1856— in Pennsylvania

Conf. 1859-60, 1862-68— trans. to E. Pennsylvania Conf.

1872— d. 1893— memorial services at General Conference.

 

Barnhart, D.— 1874— ord. 1879— trans. to Pennsylvania

Conf. 1880.

 


 

132 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Baulus, Jacob— settled near Fremont, O., 1822— father

of Sandusky Conf.

 

Baulus, Valentine— 1812 ord. 1817— d. about 1818,

aged 56.

 

Bazzle, W. P.— 1888 -ord. 1895.

 

Beall, William— 1874— ord. 1876— honorably dismissed

at his own request, 1880.

 

Benedum, George— 1803— moved to O., 1804— d. 1837,

aged 72.

 

Bennett, S. D.— 1895— ord. 1898.

 

Berger, Christian— 1805— to see what would take place

below in the great meeting, he hid himself in a barn in

Berks Co., but at length the people were startled by his

loud cries and prayers; he was brought down and soon con-

verted— always in deep poverty, but an indefatigable

preacher— moved to Westmoreland Co., Pa.

 

Berger, Joseph — 1828.

 

Berry, William R.— 1878— ord. 1881— d. 1906, aged 53

— buried at Dayton, Va.

 

Black, William A,— 1897— ord. 1900.

 

Boehm, Martin 1800*— see Chap. III.

 

Boehm, Henry— 1800*— joined M. E. Ch. 1804.

 

Boehm, Charles— 1830— ord. 1832.

 

Bolton, John M.— 1881— ord. 1886— trans.to Md. Conf.

1887 — joined Presb. Ch.

 

Boring, Ezekiel— 1825— ord. 1828-lived in Pa., but

traveled in Va. and preached at Whitesel’s— d. 1861.

 

Bortsfield, Matthias— 1804— charter members of Musk-

ingum Conf. 1818.

 

Bovey, Adam I.— 1835— ord. 1838— went from Keedys-

ville, Md. to W. Va., 1852— d. 1879, aged 82.

 

Bovey, Jacob A.— 1856— ord. 1858— d. 1859, aged 35—

buried at Edinburg, Va.— son of Adam I.

 

Bovey, Henry A.— 1862— ord. 1864— b. 1831— trans to

Central Ohio Conf. 1878.— son of Adam I.

 

Boyd, S. E.— d. at Roanoke, Va., 1911, aged 67— this

name occurs only in Mr. Funkhouser's necrology.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 133

 

Bowersox, James E.— 1843— ord. 1846— trans. to Iowa

Conf. 1858 married a Shuey— d. at Shueyville, Ia.

Brandt, Samuel— 1815.

 

Brane, C. I. B.— 1873— ord. 1876— trans. to Md. Conf.

1887.

 

Brashear, Theodore F. — 1849— fine singer— went to

Iowa, 1862.

 

Brazer, Jacob 1817— lived at Chambersburg, Pa.—

d. 1822.

 

Bricker, Luther O.— 1898— ord. 1900.

 

Brill, James W.— 1894.

 

Brown, John 1813— exhorter.

 

Brown, John 1820- ord. 1821— same as preceding (?).

 

Brown, William— 1816— ord. 1819— moved to Benton

Co., Ind. 1838—  d. 1868, aged 72.

 

Brown, William— 1817— bishop one term, declined re-

election.

 

Brown, George— 1817.

 

Brown, George W.— 1870— withdrew under charges, 1877.

 

Bruce, W. H.— 1895.

 

Brunk, John H.— 1897— ord. 1900.

 

Burtner, Henry— 1821— ord. 1823— d. 1857, aged 57.

 

Burtner, William H.— 1869— ord. 1874— d. 1894, aged 60.

 

Burtner, Luther O.— 1882— ord. 1889— trans. to Md.

Conf. 1889— appointed to Africa 1892, serving 7½ years.

 

Burtner, Otto W.— 1894.

 

Busey, B. P. S.— ord. 1898.

 

Bushong, T.— 1861— trans. to Miami Conf.

 

Byrd, Rudolph— 1885— ord. 1887.

 

Cain, William M. H.— 1855— trans. to Parkersburg Conf. 1857.

 

Canter, John Morticia— 1862— ord. 1864— trans. to Scioto Conf. 1866— b. 1823— d. 1888.

 

Castle, A. S.— 1886— trans. to Md. Conf. 1887.

 

Chamberlain, J. B.— 1889— ord. 1891.

 

Childress, Walter L.— 1894— an elder from M. P. Ch.

 

Clary, W. H.— 1875— ord. 1885— d. 1913, aged 69.

 


 

134 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Clifford, T. K.— 1887— ord. 1890— d. 1908, aged 63—

Buried at Cedar Green Cem., Staunton, Va.

 

Clopper, John— 1821— ord. 1829— lived in Md.

 

Coffman, Andrew J.— 1843— ord. 1846— from Page Co. — joined Lutheran Ch.

 

Coursey, William R.— 1833— ord. 1835— trans. to Rock

River Conf. 1867— d. at Benevola, Md., 1880.

 

Crabill, Samuel A.— 1895— ord. 1898.

 

Cronise, B. F.— 1879— ord. 1879— local— from M. E. Ch.

— trans. to Md. Conf. 1887.

 

Crowell. Charles H.— 1878— ord. 1882.

 

Crowling, Christian — 1829.

 

Crum, Christian — 1800* — ord. 1819 — b. near Frederick,

Md.— lived near the Hott place, Pleasant Valley, Va.— d. 1823.

 

Crum, Henry— 1800*.

 

Cupp, N. F. A.— 1885— ord. 1887.

 

Davis, H. F. — 1856— trans. to Parkersburg Conf.

 

Dawson, S. D.— 1894.

 

Day, Albert 1883— ord. 1886— joined Presb. Ch. 1892.

 

Dehof, Jacob— 1805— ord. 1817— d. 1834.

 

Dehof, John— 1828— ord. 1830 and went to Penn. Conf.

— d. 1844.

 

Delphy, John— 1859.

 

Deneale, George E.— 1834— ord. 1835— from Ohio (?)

— "no longer a preacher among us," 1837.

 

Denton, Benjamin— 1855— local preacher and farmer—

grandfather of Rev. S. L. Rice— d. about 1856 — buried at

Dry Run.

 

Donovan, John D.— 1877— ord. 1881— d. 1905, aged 50—

buried at Singers Glen, Va.

 

Dorcas, John— 1829— ord. 1832.

 

Dorsey, R. L.— 1890— dismissed from the ministry, 1894.

 

Draksel, Abraham — 1800*— b. in Lebanon Co., Pa., 1753

— removed to Mt. Pleasant, Pa., 1804— d. 1825.

 

Duckwald, Ludwig— 1801.

 

Duckwald, Frederick— 1805— lived at Sleepy Cr., Va.

 

Duckwald, Henry— 1808.

 

Dunahoo, Jacob— 1820.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 135

 

Dyche, C. P.— 1881— ord. 1885.

 

Eberhart, Lorenz— 1805.

 

Eckard, Francis— 1834— ord. 1838— silenced 1842— re-

stored 1844— license demanded 1845— d. near Midway.

Rockbridge Co., Va., during the war— wife a Hoffman.

 

Eckstein, John— 1827— ord. 1829.

 

Edwards, William— 1838— ord. 1841— trans. to Iowa

Conf. 1853— reared at Whitesel's Church— strong in

prayer — wife a Ganger — d. in Iowa.

 

Erb, Jacob— 1823— ord. 1825— bishop three terms— d.

April 29, 1883, aged 79.

 

Ernst, John— 1800*— belonged in Pa.

 

Esterlein, Lorenz— 1824— ord. 1827.

 

Evans, J. A.— 1880— b. in Michigan, educated, went to

Africa, 1870, returned, served the freedmen in Va., and

returned to Africa, 1880— d. at Freetown, Africa, 1899

and there buried.

 

Evers, Samuel— 1857— d. 1861 aged 30— buried at Union

church, Cross Keys, Va.

 

Evers, Abram M.— 1862— ord. 1863— trans. to Md. Conf.

1887

 

Ewig, James— 1824— ord. 1829 (?).

 

Ewing, J. William O.— 1889— ord. 1892— d. 1898 aged

32— buried at Friendship, Frederick Co., Va.

 

Fadeley, Green B.— 1886— ord. 1889. [Note: His 1931 obituary lists him as George B. Fadeley.]

 

Feaster, T. J.— 1898— 1901— d. 1906 aged 32— buried

at Lahmansville, W. Va.

 

Ferrell, David O.— 1844— went West and died in Kans.—

wife a preacher. [Note: The correct name is David O’Farrell.]

 

Fleck, David— 1817— ord. 1819.

 

Flickinger, Jacob— 1815— exhorter.

 

Flugel, Valentine— 1803.

 

Fortenbaugh, G.— 1800*.

 

Fout, Henry Harness— 1885— ord. 1887— and trans. to Md.

Conf.

 

Fout, Julius E.— 1890— ord. 1893— trans. to Md. Conf.

1894; to Sandusky, 1898.

 

Freed, J. D.— 1857— ord. 1862— trans. to Penn. Conf.

1885.

 


 

136 UNITED BRETHREN

 

 

FREED, A. D.— 1875— d. 1876.

 

Fries, Martin L.— 1835— brother to Josiah Fries— well

educated, very bright and promising— married Sarah Fix

at Leitersburg, Md. and died one month later about 1837—

buried at Hagerstown, Md.

 

Fries, J. N.— 1871— ord. 1878.

 

Fries, William O.— 1881 ord. 1885— trans. to Md.

1887— trans. to Sandusky Conf. 1890.

 

Fry, Henry, J.— 1814.

 

Fry, John-1825— ord. 1829.

 

Fulkerson, John W.— 1813— ord. 1816— trans. to Iowa

Conf. 1859; to Minn. Conf. 1857.— See Chapter XIX.

 

Funk, Erasmus P.— 1872— ord. 1875 — trans. to Pa.

 

Funk, J. W.— 1872— ord. 1875— trans. to Kas. Conf.

 

Funk, John B.— 1871— trans. to E. Penn. Conf. 1878.

 

Funkhouser, Daniel— 1835 reared at Mt. Hebron—

from Penn. Conf.

 

Funkhouser, Joseph— 1844— farmer near Keezletown,

Va.— ord. 1817— joined M. E. C. S., 1865.

 

Funkhouser. Abram P.— 1872 ord. 1876— see Chap.

XXIII— d. 1917, aged 64.

 

Geisinger, Jacob— 1800*.

 

Geisinger, John— 1814.

 

Gibbons, John— 1844— ord. 1846— reared near Church-

ville, Va.— bashful as a boy, could preach from the start—

professed religion in a camp meeting at Peter Ruebush's—

d. near Burlington, W. Va. about 1847 and buried at old

stone church.

 

Gilbert, George— 1828- trans. to Penn. Conf. 1843.

 

Gilbert, Frederick— 1828— ord. 1830— d. 1800 buried

at Chambersburg, Penn.

 

Gingerich, Daniel— 1818.

 

Glossbrenner, Jacob J.— 1831— ord. 1883— see Chapter

XIX— d. 1887, aged 75— buried at Churchville, Va.

 

Godnatt, Daniel— 1825.

 

Good, Charles M.— 1900.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 137

 

Grimm, Joseph S.— 1841— ord. 1847 -trans. to Md. Conf.

1887.

 

Grimm, John W.— 1863— ord. 1864— trans. to Penn.

Conf. 1876.

 

Grimm, William O.— 1865— ord. 1865— trans. to Penn.

Conf. 1883.

 

Grimm, Jacob L.— 1867— ord. 1869.

 

Grosh, Christopher— 1800*— went West— d. 1829—

buried in Lancaster Co., Penn.

 

Gruber, George M.— 1887— trans. to Md. Conf. 1887.

 

Gruver, William F.— 1887— ord. 1889.

 

Guething, George A.— 1800*— ord. 1783— d. 1812, aged

73— see Chap. VI.

 

Guething (Geeting), George A., Jr.— 1812— ord. 1810—

d. about 1842, aged 61.

 

Haas, Jacob— 1831— local preacher and blacksmith—

lived in Edinburg, Va.— d. 1862, aged 72— converted at

Mill Cr.— of the family about Woodstock.

 

Habecker, Peter— 1825.

 

Hammack, Cornelius B.— 1850— d. Mar. 1, 1877, aged 46— buried

at Oak Hill, Va.

 

Hammack, Abram S.— 1880— ord. 1890.

 

Haney, John— 1830— ord. 1832— went to Penn. 1836,

returned 1841— removed to Minn. 1857— a charter member

of Minn. Conf.— strong and influential preacher loved a

good horse— preceded Glossbrenner in Rockingham.

 

Harman, George— 1869— ord. 1870— d. 1899, aged 70.

 

Herman (Herrman), Peter— 1829— ord. 1831— trans. to

Penn. Conf. 1834.

 

Harp, Joshua— 1861— ord. 1864— trans. to Md. Conf.

1887.

 

Harper, T. C.— 1900.

 

Hassell, Charles— 1813— exhorter.

 

Hendricks, John— 1825— ord. 1827— preached at Kep-

lingers.

 

Hendrickson, A. R.— 1898.

 

Hensley, James T.— ord. 1859— trans. to Parkersburg

Conf. 1800.

 


 

138 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Herre, Simon— 1800*— d. 1821.

 

Hershey, Christian— 1800*— lived in Penn.

 

Hershey, Abraham— 1800*— uncle to Jacob Erb, as also

was Christian Hershey.

 

Hershey, Abraham— 1825— ord. 1827— d. 1839— lived in

Penn.

 

Hershey, Michael— 1811— exhorter.

 

Hershey, Joseph M.— 1832— trans. to St. Joseph Conf.

 

Harman (Herrman), Peter— 1829— ord. 1831— trans. to

Penn. Conf. 1834.

 

Hess, Levi— 1853— ord. 1855— in Penn. Conf. 1857-68—

trans. to Parkersburg Conf.— joined M. E. Ch.— d. at Win-

chester, Va.

 

Hesse, William— 1880— ord. 1883— joined Lutheran Ch.

 

Hicks, James W.— ord. 1881— came from Miami Conf.—

graduated from U. B. Seminary, 1880— trans. to Md. Conf.

1887— later to Sandusky Conf.

 

Hiestand, Abraham— 1800*.

 

Hiestand, Henry— 1811.

 

Higgins, Henry, 1829— ord. 1831— d. about 1832.

 

Hildt, John— 1817— ord. 1820.

 

Hisey, Frederick— 1831— ord. 1835— d. at Edinburgh

Va. — grandfather to L. M. Hisey.

 

Hiskey, Valentine— 1815— ord. 1822.

 

Hiskey, George— 1827— ord. 1830.

 

Hoffard (Huffer), John— 1821— ord. 1829— d. 1842,

aged 42.

 

Hoffard, John— 1823— ord. 1831.

 

Hoffman, Joseph— 1806— ord. 1813— b. in Cumberland

Co., Pa., 1780, began preaching 1802, succeeded Otterbein

as pastor in Baltimore — removed to Montgomery Co., O.

 

Hoffman, George— 1808— ord. 1816.

 

Hoffman, John— 1826— ord. 1829.

 

Holcomb, Joseph— 1858— ord. 1862— joined M. E. C. S.,

1873.

 

Hoover, Abram— 1869— ord. 1871— d. at Churchville,

Va., 1901, aged 62.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 139

 

Horn, Abram M.— 1880— ord. 1883.

 

Horn, Alexander N.— 1886— trans. to Md. Conf. 1887.

 

Horner, Abraham— 1818— exhorter.

 

Hott, Jacob F.— 1887— b. Nov. 20, 1822— d. Aug. 31,

1884.

 

Hott, James W. 1862 -ord. 1864— see Chap. XIX— d. 1902,

aged 57.

 

Hott, J. Elkanah -1866— withdrew, 1870 -trans. from

Dakota Conf. 1877— joined O. C., 1889.

 

Hott, Charles M.— 1872— ord. 1875— trans. to Md. Conf.

1887— d. at Woodbridge, Cal.

 

Hott, John Moses— 1877— ord. 1883— d. 1916, aged 81.

 

Hott, Isaac T.— 1878 trans. to Miami Conf. 1882— join-

ed Presb. Ch.

 

Hott, George P.— 1879— ord. 1883— see Chap. XX— d.1914,

aged 60.

 

Houk, Jonah— 1825.

 

Houk, J. B.— same as Jonah?— withdrew irregularly— 

joined M. E. C. S.— d. about 1864 on Elizabeth Island.

 

Houk, Herrman— 1830— ord. 1834.

 

Houk, Jacob M. — 1830— ord. 1833— lived near Melrose—

married Barbara Rhodes, the woman who reared him and

who was probably 40 years older.

 

Howe, John W. —  1858 -ord. 1860— see Chap. XX— d. 1903,

aged 73.

 

Howe, George W.— 1867— d. 1889, aged 57 buried at

Mt. Horeb.

 

Huber, Samuel— 1816— ord. 1819.

 

Huber, Henry — 1828.

 

Huffman, George— 1830— ord. 1833— d. 1888, aged 82.

 

Hugel, John— 1827— ord. 1830.

 

Humphreys, J. G.— 1874— dismissed for failure to meet

committee on course of reading, 1877.

 

Hutlin, Thomas — 1822.

 

Hutsler, Charles W.— 1878— ord. 1881— trans. to E.

Penn. Conf. 1883.

 

Jackson, David— 1835— local preacher— gave up his

license— d. at Churchville, Va.— father of Rev. W. A. Jack-

son.

 

Jackson, W. A.—  1860— trans. to Penn. Conf., 1863.

 

James, William— 1856— trans. to Parkersburg Conf.

 

Jones, Henry— 1839— perhaps lived on Holcomb place

near Melrose, Va.

 


 

140 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Jones, Henry— 1875— ord. 1878— d. 1889, aged 52.

 

Jones, William O.— 1895.

 

Jones, George M.— 1897.

 

Jordan, Joseph— 1811— exhorter.

 

Judy, Ida M.— 1900.

 

Keedy, D. D.— trans. from Alleghany Cont. 1857— trans.

to Md. Conf. 1887.

 

Keiter, Monroe F.— 1875— ord. 1878— joined O. C. 1891.

 

Kemp, Peter— 1801— d. near Frederick, Md., 1811.

 

Kessler, Matthias — 1801.

 

Ketterman. J. G.— 1880- d. 1884, aged 50.

 

Kimmerling, Henry— 1825.

 

Kinnear, William— 1828— ord. 1831.

 

Kiracofe, John W.— 1863— ord. 1864— trans. to Md.

Conf. 1887.

 

Kiracofe, George W.— 1874— ord. 1877— trans. to Penn.

Conf. 1878— joined Bapt. Ch.

 

Kiracofe, Nimrod A.— 1880— trans. to Md. Conf. 1887—

ord. 1893.

 

Kolb, George— 1814.

 

Knott, William— 1829— ord. 1832— "Pappy Knott" was

a good preacher with a wonderful voice— could not read

when he began to preach and someone often read for him.

 

Krack, John— 1825— ord. 1827.

 

Kreider, Martin— 1800*.

 

Kreider, John— 1812— ord. 1817.

 

Kumler, Henry— 1814— ord. 1816— lived near Green-

castle. Penn., but moved to Butler Co., O. 1819— member

first General Conference— bishop 20 years— son of Swiss

immigrant— d. 1854, aged 79. 

 

Lan Seng Nam— 1897 native of China— joined Conf.

in China.

 

Lawrence, P. J.- 1882— ord. 1885.

 

Lawson, Moses— 1828 ord. 1830.

 

Lehman, Adam— 1800*— d. about 1823, aged 90.

 

Lehman, Jacob— 1818.

 

Levering, Robert G. H.— 1839— stammered in conversa-

tion but not in preaching, in which he was powerful.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 141     

 

Little, George O.— 1848— trans. to Penn. Conf. — father

of G. K. Little.

 

Long, David— 1801.

 

Lower, W. T.— 1851— ord. 1853 trans. to Penn. Conf.

1870— died in Chambersburg, Penn.

 

Ludwick, E.— 1878— ord. 1881— trans. to Penn. Conf.

1885

 

Ludwig, S. R.— 1894— ord. 1897.

 

Lutz, William— 1843— ord. 1840— native of Page Co.,

Va.,— joined Lutheran Ch.

 

Lutz, L. Walter— 1899— ord. 1900— from W. Va. Conf.

which he joined 1897. 

 

Maiden, John W.— 1892—  ord. 1896.

 

Markwood, Jacob— 1838 ord. 1841— see Chap. XIX— d. 1873,

aged 58.

 

 

Markwood, John— brother to Jacob— trans. from Scioto

Conf.— lived in Hampshire Co.— blind last years of life.

 

Martin, Samuel— 1854— local preacher and blacksmith— 

charter member of Parkersburg Conf.

 

Martin, Eli— 1856— came from Baptist Ch.— trans. to

Parkersburg Conf.

 

Martin, W. L.— 1881—  ord. 1884—  trans. to Md. Conf.

1887.

 

Matthews, L. W.— 1851—  ord. 1853— trans. 1863— rear-

ed in Frederick Co.— a fine preacher.

 

Mayer, Abraham— 1800*— d. 1826, aged 69—  lived near

Carlisle, Penn.— ord. 1819.

 

Mayselles, M. L.— 1880— ord. 1887— trans. to Md. Conf.

1887.

 

McMullen, Edgar W.— 1891- d. 1917, aged 54— buried

at Singers Glen.

 

McNeil, T. S.— 1859— from Miami Conf.— d. 1874.

 

Michael, Moses— 1856— ord. 1858(?)— trans. to Mo.

Conf.— charter member thereof, 1858.

 

Miles, James W.— 1844— ord. 1846— trans. to Parkers-

burg Conf. 1857.

 

Miller, Thomas— 1825— ord. 1828— preached at White-

sel’s— lived in Shenandoah Co.— married a Painter— joined

Lutheran Ch.

 


 

142 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Miller William— 1831 silenced for running his horse

on a race track about 1836— d. in Penn. 1852.

 

Miller, W. J.— 1864— ord. 1868— trans. to N. Kans.

Conf. 1890.

 

Miller, Charles— 1874— from Evangelical Association—

d. 1892, aged 67— buried at Otterbein Church, Purgitts-

ville, W. Va.

 

Minser, Jacob— 1835— came from the Methodists— rear-

ed in Frederick Co., Va.— married a Bender— quit preach-

ing — went West.

 

Myers, Jacob C. S.— 1899— ord. 1900.

 

Negley, J.— 1872— ord. 1878— d. 1898, aged 67.

 

Neidig, John— 1800*— lived near Harrisburg, Penn.— d.

1844, aged 79.

 

Nelson, John K. 1862— ord. 1864— trans. to Md. Conf.

1887— joined O. C., 1890— d. at Winchester, Va.

 

Newcomer, Christian— 1800*— ord. 1813— see Chap.

VIII.

 

Nihiser, Richard— 1845— reared near Mt. Hebron, Shen-

andoah Co., Va.— pious student, great in song and prayer,

voice like a trumpet— death most triumphant— d. of con-

sumption at Chewsville, Md., 1847— b. at Hagerstown.

 

Nihiser, J. W.— 1857— ord. 1858— married Mary Lig-

gett of Edinburg, Va.— d. 1893, aged 66— buried at Keedys-

ville. Md.

 

Niswander, Isaac— 1800*— d. 1820(?).

 

Niswander, Abraham — 1807.

 

Otterbein, William— 1800*— see Chap. II.

 

Ow, Henry— 1810— ord. 1817.

 

Parlett, Isaac T.— 1876— ord. 1879— joined O. C., 1891.

 

Parlett, John H.— 1878— ord. 1881— joined O. C., 1891.

 

Perry, John W.— 1850— ord. 1853— trans. to Parkers-

burg Conf. 1857.

 

Pfeifer, Daniel— 1818— ord. 1820.

 

Pfrimmer, John G.— 1800*— ord. 1815— b. in France—

d. in Harrison Co., Ind., 1825, aged 63.

 

Phillips, John— 1853 — ord. 1855— withdrew irregularly,

1858— joined Presb. Ch.— d. in the west of Penn.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 143

 

Pope, John— 1840— ord. 1843— local preacher— lived in

Pendleton Co.

 

Potts, John— 1830.

 

Pugh, Edgar A.— 1889— trans. to E. Tenn. Conf., 1899—

d. 1899.

 

Racey, L. A.— 1897— ord. 1900.

 

Randall, Abel— 1850— ord. 1853— local preacher— lived

in Pendleton Co., below Fort Seybert— trans. to Iowa Conf.

1859.

 

Rathfang, John— 1814.

 

Rau, William S.— 1885— returned his credentials to

Conference.

 

Rexrode, George W.— 1858— ord. 1862— d. 1898, aged

77— buried at Mill Cr., Rockingham Co., Va.

 

Rhinehart, William R.— 1825— ord. 1828— buried at

Miami chapel.

 

Rhinehart, Jacob— 1830— ord. 1832— in Penn. Conf.

1840-46— d. at Fishersville, Va., 1856— buried at Bethlehem,

Augusta Co. — grave unmarked.

 

Richards, John— 1838— ord. 1841— great revivalist and

popular— withdrew irregularly, 1846— joined Lutheran

Ch.— went to Iowa.

 

Richardson, H. E.— 1895— ord. 1898.

 

Riegel, Adam— 1800*.

 

Rice, J. E. R.— 1885— ord. 1887— trans. to Md. Conf.

1897.

 

Rice, Samuel L.— 1889— ord. 1892.

 

Ridenour, Jacob R.— 1875— ord. 1878.

 

Rider, John— 1822.

 

Rimel, George— 1832— ord. 1835— owned a farm and

rode a poor horse— trans. to Mo. Conf. 1866— d. soon after-

ward.

 

Rodruck, Jacob M.— 1858— ord. 1860— d. 1887, aged 73.

 

Ross, John N.— 1870— joined M. E. C. S., 1873.

 

Roth, Conrad— 1817.

 

Roudabush, George J.— 1875— ord. 1879— trans. to Md.

Conf. 1887— d. 1916, aged 70.

 


 

144 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Ruebush, John— 1839— ord. 1812— in Tenn. 1856-70—

d. at Leitersburg, Md., 1881, aged 64— buried at Keedysville,

Md.

 

Russell, John— b. near Baltimore, Md., Mar. 18, 1799—

began to preach, 1818— bishop two terms— lived at Keedys-

ville, Md.— d. Dec. 21, 1870.

 

Salt, M. A.— 1880— ord. 1883— trans. to E. Penn. 1885.

 

Sampsell, W. H. 1881— ord. 1885.

 

Schaeffer, Frederick— 1800*— ord. 1813.

 

Schottle, William— 1828— ord. 1829.

 

Schwope, Benedict— 1800*— in conference of 1789.

 

Scott, Snowden— 1867— see Chapt. XX— d. 1902, aged 79.

 

Scott, John D.— 1805— d. at Roanoke, Va., 1907, aged 78.

 

Secrist, A. J.— 1895— ord. 1898.

 

Senseny, John— 1800*.

 

Senseny, Peter— 1801— d. at Winchester, Va., 1804(?).

 

Senseny, Daniel— 1829.

 

Shopp, Christian— 1825— ord. 1829.

 

Shuey, George A.— 1833— ord. 1835— d. 1877(?).

 

Skelton, Silas D.— 1885— ord. 1887.

 

Smith, Christian— 1809.

 

Smith, Gideon— 1823— ord. 1825.

 

Smith, John— 1828— ord. 1830.

 

Snapp, George H.— 1864— ord. 1874— trans. to Parkers-

burg Conf.

 

Snell, Samuel H. 1880— ord. 1883— trans. to Md. Conf.

1887.

 

Snyder, David 1800*— d. near Newville, Penn., 1819,

aged 57.

 

Snyder, John— 1809 — ord. 1817— lived in Penn.—

d. 1845.

 

Snyder, James— 1825— ord. 1828.

 

Snyder, J. F.— 1890— ord. 1892.

 

Spayth, Henry G.— 1812— ord. 1817— delegate from

Va. to General Conference, 1815— member thereof six other

terms— d. at Tiflin, Ohio, Sept, 2, 1873.

 

Spessard, David S.— 1835— ord. 1837— married Martha

A. Cline at Newtown.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 145

 

Spitler, Jacob C.— 1842— ord. 1845— lived near Spring

Hill— d. of cholera in St. Louis, 1855, on his way to Kas.

 

Stanton, E. A.— 1900.

 

Statton, George W.— 1848— trans. to Des Moines Conf.

1880.

 

Statton, Isaac K.— 1850— ord. 1858— trans. to Rock

River Conf. 1862.

 

Statton, John F.— 1853— trans. to Kans. Conf. 1855.

 

Stearn, Charles T.— 1862— in Rock River Conf. 1863-

65 — trans. to Penn. Conf. 1871.

 

Stearn, J. W.— 1897.

 

Steward, John G.— 1844— ord. 1847.

 

Stickley, Benjamin— 1840— ord. 1843— tender-hearted,

but a giant in strength— arrested in Hampshire, 1862 and

confined to Staunton— released on writ of habeas corpus-

transferred to Iowa Conf. 1863.

 

Stinespring, C. W.- 1876— ord. 1880— trans. to Penn.

Conf. 1885.

 

Stover, George W.— 1888— ord. 1896.

 

Strickler, Daniel— 1800*.

 

Sutton, James — 1828.

 

Swartz, Peter— 1811— ord. 1816.

 

Tallhelm, Henry— 1854— ord. 1856— see Chap. XX— d.

1902, aged 78.

 

Thomas, Michael— 1800— d. 1834(?)— lived in Md.

 

Thomas, P. H.— 1865— ord. 1865— d. 1889, aged 72.

 

Tobey, Jonathan— 1835— local— good preacher and

ahead of his time — d. in the West.

 

Traub, Christian— 1821— ord. 1823.

 

Troyer, Daniel — 1803 — converted under Otterbein's

preaching at Antietam, Md.— moved to Ohio, 1806 — d. 1860,

aged 94.

 

Underwood, I. M.— 1874— from Parkersburg Conf.—

trans. to Kas. Conf. 1893.

 

Umstot, Zimri- 1874— ord. 1873— local preacher— d.

1883, aged about 43.

 

Walter, J. W.— 1893— ord. 1900— d. 1910, aged 67.

 

Walton, A. P.— 1898— ord. 1899.

 


 

146 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Warner, Zebedee— 1855— ord. 1856— b. in Pendleton

Co. — see Chap. XIX.

 

Weist, Conrad— 1819— ord. 1822— ruled, "no longer a

preacher among us," 1837.

 

Weidner, Henry— 1800*— in conferences of 1789, 1791.

 

Weller, P. W.— 1872— ord. 1875— trans. 1880— d. at

Westfield, Ill., 1880, aged 25.

 

Wells, S. T.— 1876— from Des Moines Conf.— trans. to

E. Penn. Conf. 1880.

 

White, J. P.— 1855— trans. to Parkersburg Conf. 1857.

 

Whitesel, Peter— 1830— ord. 1832— d. 1837(?).

 

Whitesel, James E.— 1872— ord. 1875— d. at Church-

ville, Va., 1878, aged 27.

 

Widmeyer, J. E.— 1877— ord. 1880— d. 1883, aged 20.

 

Wine, Sylvester K.— 1877— ord. 1881— trans. to Md.

Conf. 1887 -trans. from Sandusky Conf. 1896.

 

Wenger, Jacob— 1814— ord. 1819— d. 1862, aged 85.

 

Winter. Thomas— 1801 — trans. to Miami Conf.

 

Winters, David— 1829.

 

Winton, H. H. 1850— fine preacher— trans. 1862— join-

ed Lutheran Ch.— d. at Pittsburgh, Penn., 1897.

 

Witter, Jacob— 1811 — buried at Mt. Hebron near

Keedysville, Md.— daughter married Rev. J. M. Hensley.

 

Witter, Emanuel— 1812— ord. 1815— son of above

Jacob.

 

Woodyard, Noah— 1829— ord. 1831.

 

Yerkey, William— 1856— trans. to Parkersburg Conf.

1857.

 

Young, Henry— 1830— lived in Penn.— d. 1867.

 

Zahn, John— 1825— ord. 1827— d. 1881.

 

Zahn, Charles W.— 1837— ord. 1840— brother to John—

withdrew irregularly, 1816.

 

Zarman, Jacob— 1872 trans. from Minn. Conf.— d. 1885,

aged about 72.

 

Zehrung, Samuel— 1839— ord. 1842— d. 1849, aged 37—

brother to Matthew.

 

Zentmeyer, J.— 1818— lived near Chambersburg, Penn.

 


 

147

CHAPTER XIX

BISHOPS, MISSIONARIES AND OTHERS

 

Twelve bishops of the United Brethren Church have

been members of this Conference. Biographical sketches

of Otterbein, Boehm, and Newcomer appear in other

chapters. Henry Kumler, William Brown, John Russell,

and Jacob Erb did not live within the present domain of

the Conference. Five others were born in Virginia or lived

here. These are Glossbrenner, Markwood, Hiestand, Hott,

and Fout.

 

*****

 

Jacob John Glossbrenner was born of Lutheran parents

at Hagerstown, Maryland, July 24, 1812. His father was

killed by an accident when the boy was only seven years

old, and the widow and the four children were left in very

straitened circumstances. Jacob was apprenticed to a

silversmith to learn his trade, but his conversion at the age

of seventeen changed the current of his life. A year later

he was licensed to exhort in the United Brethren Church.

A year later yet,— when he was only nineteen — he was an

itinerant preacher. At this time he looked even more

youthful than his years would indicate, and some people

wondered what the conference meant by sending out boys

to preach. But he felt no doubt as to his call, and his hear-

ers at once found the boy could preach and preach well.

 

Glossbrenner in 1831 was among the first, if not the

very first, of the United Brethren ministers who gave their

whole time to the calling, and without having any other

means of support. It was still thought by the people that

if they fed and lodged the preacher and took care of his

horse, they were doing their full part. This enabled him to

exist, but in any proper sense of the term it did not permit

him to live. Glossbrenner was first put on the Hagerstown

circuit and next on the Staunton.

 


 

148 UNITED BRETHREN

 

The house of Christian Shuey, seven miles from Church-

ville, was his home while on the Staunton circuit. Shuey

was noble, wealthy, and generous, and had a room in his

house known as the preacher's room. When an itinerant

had rested, he left his soiled clothes here, and on his re-

turn they were ready to put on again. Mrs. Shuey was a

granddaughter of George A. Geeting, one of the three lead-

ing founders of the United Brethren Church. She took a

great interest in its activities, especially the camp meetings.

At this house the young preacher, when not yet twenty-one

years of age was married to Maria M., a daughter of the

Shueys. The marriage was happy to each of the couple,

and Mrs. Glossbrenner often accompanied her husband

on his travels. A little earlier the young man had been

much inclined to wed one of the Brocks, a sister to the wife

of George E. Deneale. But after becoming acquainted with

the Shueys he changed his mind. When visiting at the

Brock home, some time afterward, he noticed that the ob-

ject of his earlier attention had a white-handled penknife

that he had given her. He asked her to return it, but she

replied that wherever the knife went she went. Glossbren-

ner was glad to say no more on the subject of knives.

 

When Mr. Glossbrenner was but twenty-two years old

he was chosen presiding elder of the Staunton district.

He was several times re-elected, and up to the time that he

first became a bishop, he had served but four other itiner-

ances — Shiloh mission, and Frederick, Rockbridge. and

Staunton circuits. In 1845 he was a bishop and such he

remained for forty years. In 1885 he became bishop

emeritus, being continued in all his former relations to the

superintendency, but relieved from presiding over confer-

ence sessions.

 

Bishop Glossbrenner was naturally conservative. When

he entered the Virginia Conference, there were only four

circuits, eight itinerants, and two or three houses of wor-

ship. Yet through half a century he kept abreast with the

progress of the Church. Every interest and every great

enterprise which grew up in these fifty years found in him

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 149

 

a friend, and though crowned with honor and years he died

young in heart. He was a man of retiring modesty, but

was a systematic and logical thinker and profound theolo-

gian. As a preacher he was bold, fearless, tender-hearted,

persuasive, earnest, and eloquent. Though he made con-

version a direct aim in his preaching, he was not eminent-

ly a revivalist. Reformation and not denunciation was

uppermost in his sermons. As a presiding officer he was

able, dignified, discreet, and broad-minded. He was also

a good parliamentarian.

 

A younger minister, in giving some reminiscences, re-

marked that whenever he looked at Glossbrenner, he felt

inspired to make a better man of himself. Bishop Hott

said that Glossbrenner was unique, that no other man could

be like him, and that no person since Otterbein had so

strongly impressed himself on the United Brethren Church.

 

The bishop's fine farm on Middle River was the gift

of his father-in-law. In 1855 he removed to a very com-

fortable home at Churchville. In the opinion of the

Public he was worth several times the actual inventory of

$10,000 and some insurance. During his first year as

bishop lie received only $36 and his traveling expenses.

This stipend was increased to $750 in 1865, and later to

twice that amount.

 

Bishop Glossbrenner died at his home at Churchville,

January 7, 1887, at the age of seventy-four. He was of

more than medium height. He had black eyes, dark com-

plexion, and regular features. His manner was winning and

sincere. By adults he was familiary known as "Brother

Gloss," and by children as '"Uncle Gloss." His voice was

distinct, ringing, and melodious. His preaching was wholly

in English. Even his parents understood but little Ger-

man. The bishop had three daughters. His only son died

in infancy.

 

Jacob J. Glossbrenner built himself very largely into

the history of the Virginia Conference, and more is said of

him in other chapters of this book.

 


 

150 UNITED BRETHREN

 

*****

 

Jacob Markwood was born at Charlestown, West Vir-

ginia, December 25, 1818. His brother was a Presbyterian.

When thirteen years old, and an apprentice in a woolen

factory, he was converted. He soon felt it his duty to

preach, and at the age of eighteen was licensed to exhort.

A few months later he was placed on Hagerstown circuit.

His next Held was the South Branch. In 1843 he was a

presiding elder, and beginning with 1845 was a delegate

to every General Conference. In 1861 he was elected bishop

and held this place eight years. As a preacher, Bishop

Markwood was fervent and eloquent. He was an indefatig-

able worker, and one of the most remarkable men the

United Brethren Church has produced. In personal ap-

pearance he was dark, thin, and wiry, and he was too heed-

less of his physical welfare. He died at Luray, Virginia

in 1873.

 

*****

 

James W. Hott, a son of Jacob F. Hott, was born

November 15, 1844, was converted at the age of thirteen,

and three years later was licensed to preach. In 1802,

when but eighteen years old, he entered the Virginia Con-

ference, and was ordained in 1865. During the eleven

years that he was a member of the conference, his fields

were Winchester, Martinsburg, Woodstock, Churchville,

Boonsboro, and Hagerstown. He was very successful, sev-

eral hundred conversions taking place under his ministry.

 

In the General Conference of 1869 he was the youngest

delegate, being twenty-four years of age. At the next Gen-

eral Conference, of which he was likewise a member, he

was chosen treasurer of its Missionary Society. In 1877

he became editor of the Religious Telescope, and held this

very important position twelve years. This period was a

critical time in the history of the Church, yet he filled the

place with great tact and acceptability.

 

In 1881 Dr. Hott was chosen as a delegate to the Metho-

dist Ecumenical Conference at London. He extended his

visit to the Eastern Continent, and his "Journeyings in the

Old World" is one of the best books of its kind ever writ-

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 151

 

ten. In 1889 he was elected bishop and for twelve years

he filled this place with credit to himself and the church.

In 1894 he made an official visit to the mission fields in

Germany and Africa. This seemed to fire his zeal in the

cause of missions.

 

Although Bishop Hott was a self-made man, his was a

well-stored and cultured mind, and he was an eloquent

speaker. The degree of doctor of divinity was conferred

on him by two colleges, and that of doctor of laws by Lane

University.

 

Dr. Hott was recognized within and without his church

as an able preacher, strong writer, an efficient presiding

officer, and a safe counselor. His superior natural gifts

and his positive convictions, sharpened by lifelong study,

made him a leader. He was at the front in every move-

ment looking to the good of the Church and the salvation

of men. His deep and genuine interest in young people

made him a friend of the United Brethren schools and the

Christian societies of the young folks. He possessed an un-

usual personal charm. His conversational power, his

urbanity of manner, his warm affability, and his genuine

hospitality were attractive elements of his character. His

ceaseless toil was remarkable, and undoubtedly contributed

to cut him off at what seemed a premature age.

 

Bishop Hott died January 9, 1902 at the age of fifty-

seven years. His first wife was Martha A. Ramey of Fred-

erick County, Virginia. Their children were four. He was

married a second time to Marie Shank of Ohio.

 

*****

 

Henry H. Fout was born at Maysville, West Virginia,

October 18, 1860, being a son of Henry and Susan (Powell)

Fout. He was educated at Shenandoah Institute and

Union Theological Seminary. He was licensed in 1885,

and in this conference served Frederick (Md.), Keedysville,

Edinburg, and Williamsport. He then joined the Miami

Conference, in which he was a presiding elder. During

the next twelve years he was editor of the Sunday school

 


 

152 UNITED BRETHREN

 

papers of the Church, and in 1913 he became a bishop with

his residence at Indianapolis, Indiana.

 

Julius K. Fout, a son of Henry Fout, was born at Mays-

Ville, West Virginia, in 1870, and was graduated from Shen-

andoah Seminary in 1893, in which year he was ordained.

His only field in the Virginia Conference territory was

Franklin circuit. In the first seven years of his ministry,

he received 287 members. After rising to high position in

the activities of the Church, Dr. Fout became General

Manager of Bonebrake Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio.

 

*****

 

Samuel Hiestand, ninth bishop of the United Brethren

Church, was born in Page county, Virginia, March 3, 1781.

His parents were Moravians. About 1804 he went to Ohio,

and through the influence of George Benedum was roused

from a backslidden state, becoming associated with him

as an evangelist. In 1810 he helped to organize the Miami

Conference, the first daughter conference of the Church.

He was a faithful itinerant and became bishop in 1833.

Bishop Hiestand was a man of estimable social qualities.

As an English scholar he was indifferent, but he was well

read in the German. He died in Fairfield county, Ohio,

in 1838.

 

*****

 

Zebedee Warner was born in the west of Pendleton

comity. West Virginia, February 28, 1833, and died in

Nebraska, January 24, 1888. He joined the United Breth-

ren Church in 1850. Feeling the need of a better education

than he could secure in his native county, he went the fol-

lowing year to the Northwestern Academy at Clarksburg,

W. Va. He arrived there without any money, yet he re-

mained one year, earning his board and tuition by manual

labor. A student he remained all his life. In 1853 he was

licensed as a preacher, and three years later was sent to

the extreme west of Virginia. In 1858 he helped to

organize the Parkersburg Conference, this being done in

Taylor county, and from the very first he was a leader

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 153

 

in it. In the new conference his first charge was Taylor

circuit, which took in parts of five counties. His salary

was $100, and out of this he had to pay rent on a little log

cabin in the outskirts of Philippi. At times the family

faced want. From 1802 to 1809 he was a presiding elder.

Whether as pastor or elder, Mr. Warner had very unusual

courage and endurance and neglected no duty. He made

a specialty of "catching and training" young men. For

this purpose he established a theological institute for the

benefit of young candidates for the ministry who were

without a sufficient education, and he taught this school

without compensation. His pastorate at Parkersburg —

1869 to 1880 — was when it closed the longest known in

the history of the Church. He was Missionary Secretary,

1880-87. In 1878 Mr. Warner was made a Doctor of Divin-

ity by Otterbein University. He was one of the greatest

pulpit orators in the Church, a great advocate of temper-

ance, and he helped to change the attitude of his Church

on the question of secret orders.

 

*****

 

Abner Corbin was born in Hampshire county in 1823,

but went to Iowa in 1844, where he was soon licensed.

About 1818 he was made a frontier missionary. In this

capacity his labors were of the most strenuous character.

There were times when he could cross a river only by

fastening several logs together and making his horse swim.

He died in 1802.

 

*****

 

John W. Fulkerson was born in Frederick county, Vir-

ginia, in 1822, and was still living in 1900. He was a mem-

ber of the Virginia Conference from 1839 to 1852. In

1850 he went to Minnesota as a missionary, and held his

first meeting as such on the site of Eyota. The people on

that frontier were living in log cabins, board shacks, and

sod houses. What little money they brought with them

had been spent in the long winter that followed. Living

was very high and potatoes could not be had at any price.

 


 

154 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Snow covered the ground to a depth of five feet. Mr. Fulk-

erson was a student of human nature and learned to adapt

himself to his environments. When he began his minis-

try, his mother had given him this advice: "John, your rest

must be in labor. Greet all with a smile. Make your back

fit anybody's bed. By your social life attract the people,

and by your religious life save them." The first session of

the Minnesota Conference was held in 1857, himself, J.

Haney, and two others comprising the preachers. The

Membership was 247. The first year he had $188.20 from

the General Board.

 

*****

 

John C. McNamar, born in Virginia in 1779, was the

first English-speaking preacher of the United Brethren. He

joined the Miami Conference in 1813, and distinguished

himself in the home missionary field. Within six more

years eight more English-speaking ministers had leaned

that conference.

 

*****

 

A. S. Sellers was born in Rockingham county in 1808.

He was converted at a camp meeting in Harrison county,

Indiana, in 1830 and on that very spot preached his first

sermon. In 1836 he joined Wabash Conference. Three

years later he moved into Iowa, and in that state lit “per-

haps endured more hardships and made greater sacrifices

to build up the Church" than any other missionary. When

a presiding elder in 1850, he traveled 900 miles to make

one round on his circuit, encountering frequent peril from

storm and flood. Up to 1857 he had received only $526.37.

 

*****

 

Walton C. Smith was born near Winchester in 1822 and

died at Westfield, Illinois in 1905. He went West in 1834

and joined the Wabash Conference in 1848. He was a

member of eight General Conferences, and is known as

the "Father of Westfield College."

 


 

155

CHAPTER XX

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF MINISTERS

 

Some of these sketches are compiled from letters writ-

ten about 1900. There has been no opportunity to bring

them all up to date.

 

AMBROSE: William Ambrose was born in Maryland

in 1770, but lived on Sleepy Creek, W. Va., from about

1789 until 1815, when he removed to Highland county, O.,

where he died in 1850. He was licensed in 1792 and ordain-

ed in 1808. In 1812 he was with Bishop Newcomer during

an extended tour in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and

Kentucky. After going to Ohio he became a member of

the Scioto Conference. A revival in his neighborhood in

1820 resulted in a strong church organization. The wife

of Mr. Ambrose was a daughter of Christian Crum. Two

of his sons became members of the Illinois Conference.

 

BAUGHER: Solomon L. Baugher was born at Swift

Run, Va., licensed in 1895, ordained in 1898, and has been

in the itineracy 24 years, serving Fulton, Conshohocken,

(Pa.), Portland, (Ind.), Big Pool, Pleasant Valley, Edin-

burg. While at Conshohocken, 234 were received into

church membership, and 455 were enrolled in the Sunday

School.

 

BEALE: Joseph R. Beale, son of Dr. George F. and

Mary (Dickenson) Beale, was born near Pamplin's Depot,

Va., Oct. 13, 1869, and was educated at Lafayette College

and Union Theological Seminary (New York City). He

was licensed in 1897 and ordained in 1900. Mr. Beale was

12 years a Presbyterian minister in New York, Pennsyl-

vania, New Jersey, and Nebraska. He joined the United

Brethren Church in 1916, and was two years on the West

Frederick charge. He had taught several years before join-

ing the teaching stall' of the Shenandoah Collegiate Insti-

tute in December, 1917.

 


 

156 UNITED BRETHREN

 

BERRY: William R. Berry, second son of Archibald

and Elizabeth Berry, was born near Mount Clinton Rock-

ingham county, Virginia, and died at Dayton, July M) l.)(K).

In 1870 he was converted at a camp meeting held near

Singer's Glen. He was licensed in 1871 and ordained in

1881 In 1878 he finished a two years' course of study in

the Institute at Dayton. Mr. Berry was in the ministry

twenty-eight years, serving Pleasant Valley, New Creek,

South Branch, Mechanicstown, Hagerstown circuit, Berke-

ley Springs, Lacey Spring, Singers Glen, Dayton, and

Frederick circuit. Ill health compelled him to locate, but

he lived only a few weeks in a home of his own. Mr. Berry

was a faithful minister, and few members of the Virginia

Conference were more highly esteemed. In 1882 he was

married to Miss Margaret Taylor of Hampshire County.

 

BOVEY: Henry A. Bovey was born near Leitersburg,

Maryland, in 1831, and was converted on his twenty-second

birthday. He was licensed in 1859, and in 1861 was assigned

to Highland circuit. In 1870-73 he was presiding elder of

Hagerstown district. In 1877 he removed to Westerville,

Ohio, where three sons and three daughters graduated

from Otterbein University. Mr. Bovey was a son of Adam

I. Bovey, an active local preacher who preached in both

German and English. Jacob A. Bovey was another son.

Still another was Daniel R., who did not enter the ministry

until about 50 years of age.

 

BRANE: Commodore I. B. Brane was born in Fred-

erick, Maryland, Christmas Day, 1818. His father was poor

and he had to help support himself. During the war he

worked in the Bureau of Printing and Engraving at

Washington. He was converted in 1870, licensed 1872, and

ordained 1870. His fields in this conference territory were

Potomac mission. New Germany, Berkeley Springs, and

Dayton. He was presiding elder of the Shenandoah dis-

trict, 1885, and in 1891 delegate to the Methodist Ecumeni-

cal Conference. Mr. Brane has held other important posi-

tions in the Church, and for a number of years was the

Washington correspondent of the "Religious Telescope."

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 157

 

Within 30 years of ministerial work he received about

1000 members into the church. Dr. Brane died April 7th,

1920, at Dayton, Ohio, where he was serving as associate

editor of the "Telescope."

 

BRASHEAR: Theodore F. Brashear, born about 1820,

learned the trade of shoemaker. He was a member of the

Virginia Conference from 1848 until 1861, when he was

sent to Elkhorn circuit in the Rock River Conference. His

first work in the Virginia Conference was as a junior on the

Hagerstown circuit. He was scrupulously honest, thor-

oughly conscientious, and deeply sincere. His retentive

memory enabled him to improve rapidly, both in preach-

ing and in general knowledge. He served some of the best

charges in Iowa, and was many years a presiding elder.

Mr. Brashear was an able preacher, but from his unsuspect-

ing nature he could not see the point of a joke soon enough

to dodge it, and in consequence was often victimized. It

is said of him that while attending a quarterly meeting and

staying Saturday night at the home of the steward of the

church, he felt the need of having something more under

his head. So he made a search in the darkness and used

something he found hanging on the wall. After break-

fast the two men started to church, taking a part of the

elements with them and leaving the rest for the housewife

to bring later. She failed to come because she could not

find the dress she wished to wear, and believed some rival

had stolen it. When it was too late to go to meeting she

attended to the house work, and found the dress under

the preacher's pillow. After leaving Virginia Mr. Brashear

lived mainly at Vinton, Benton county, but died in

Nebraska, whither he had removed.

 

BRIDGERS: Lucius Cary Bridgers was born in

Northamton county, N. C., and was educated at the Shen-

andoah Collegiate Institute. He was converted in 1897 and

licensed in 1918. He has been serving Ridgley five years.

 

BRILL: James William Brill was born near Capon

Springs, W. Va., Dec. 13, 1859, and is a son of John A. and

 


 

158 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Eliza Brill. He was licensed in 189 4, ordained in 11H)1,

and has been an itinerant 25 years. He has served Lost

River, Pendleton, East Rockingham, Prince William, and

Bayard.

 

BRUNK: Jacob Brunk, a Mennonite and the ancestor

of the Brunk family, came in 1795, from Maryland and set-

tled near Pennington's store in Frederick county. Bishop

Newcomer made his home a stopping place. George

Brunk, a grandson, lived on Brunk's hill on the road from

Brock's Gap to Broadway.

 

BRUNK: John Henry Brunk, son of Hugh A. and Nancy

(Heatwole) Brunk, was born in a log house seven miles

west of Harrisonburg, Va., April 3, 1861. His education

was gained in the state normal schools. He was converted

in 1879, licensed the same year, ordained in 1900, and has

been an itinerant 22 years. His charges have been New

Creek, Elkton, Singers Glen, Keyser, Harrisonburg, and

Berkeley Springs. Mr. Brunk is a trustee of Lebanon Val-

ley College, which gave him the degree of Doctor of

Divinity in 1917, and was a member of the General Con-

ferences of 1913, 1917, and 1921. He built churches at

Antioch, Swift Run, Mount Hebron, and Singer's Glen, and

a parsonage at Berkeley Springs. He began life as a car-

penter, and taught 17 years in the public schools. Until

the age of eighteen he was a Mennonite.

 

BURGESS: George Burgess was born at Laurel Dale,

Mineral county, W. Va., October 17, 1861, being a son of

Edwin and Ellen Burgess. He was educated in the free

schools, and in 1879 was converted under the preaching of

Jacob Rodruck. He was licensed at Lacey Spring and

ordained at Keyser. His charges have been Moorefield,

South Branch, New Creek, and Elk Garden. Mr. Burgess

spent two years as an evangelist.

 

BURTNER: Henry Burtner was born in 1800 in Cum-

berland county, Pennsylvania, and came to Dayton in 1843,

settling on a fine farm close to the southwest border of the

town. He entered conference in 1820, but as his education

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 159

 

was wholly in German, he at length retired from active

work in the ministry. Mr. Burtner was a prosperous

farmer and a man of much business ability. He was a

man of more than medium size, and had a fine countenance

and a very penetrating eye. In his home he was pleasant

and very hospitable. His preaching was of depth and

power. He died at Dayton in 1857.

 

BURTNER: William H. Burtner was a son of the Rev.

Henry Burtner, and came to Dayton, Virginia with his

father. He was converted early in life and gave the church

of his choice a loyal support. He was progressive and ever

ready to aid any worthy enterprise. Mr. Burtner was never

an itinerant, yet did much preaching, especially in revivals.

During a number of years he was an active trustee of Shen-

andoah Institute. His home was a Christian home. At

the time of his death, at his home near Mount Clinton in

Rockingham, May 25, 1894, nine of his twelve children

were living and were members of the church. Three of

them were in the active ministry. These were L. O. Burt-

ner, superintendent of our church on the west coast of

Africa, N. W. Burtner, pastor at Muscatine, Iowa, and O.

W. Burtner of the Virginia Conference.

 

BURTNER: Luther O. Burtner, a son of William H.

Burtner was born at Dayton, Va., December 9, 1858. He

was a student at Union Biblical Seminary, 1885-87, joined

conference, 1882, and was ordained 1889. He preached at

Keedysville and Frederick before going to Africa as a mis-

sionary, where he spent over six years. After his return

he was presiding elder of Maryland Conference.

 

BURTNER: Otto W. Burtner was born at Mount Clin-

ton, Virginia, in 1873. He was licensed in 1893, and during

the next six years served five charges, receiving 157 mem-

bers into the church.

 

BYRD: Rudolph Byrd was born near Ottobine, Rock-

ingham county, in 1859, and was licensed in 1884. During

the next 16 years he was on the Front Royal, Dayton, Edin-

burg, Toms Brook, Berkeley Springs, Myersville, and

 


 

160 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Hagerstown charges. In this time he built one Church and

one parsonage, and received o75 into the church.

 

CHILDRESS: W. Lomax Childress, born in Roanoke

county, Virginia, in 1867, was converted while studying

law in the city of Roanoke. He first joined the Methodist

Protestant Church and served three charges therein, be-

sides being conference evangelist. In 1894 he joined the

Virginia Conference, and served Dayton circuit, Lacey

Spring, Berkeley Springs, and Rohrersville. In 1895 he was

married to a daughter of William Burtner and has several

children. Mr. Childress has a poetic gift and is the author

of several volumes of verse.

 

CLARY: William H. Clary was born in Frederick

county, Maryland, July 22, 1834, and died at Deer Park in

the same state, October 29, 1913. He was converted in

1865, and was licensed by the Virginia Conference in 1870.

After serving in a local capacity he was sent to the Deer

Park charge in 1879. His subsequent circuits were West-

ernport, Jones Springs, Toms Brook, and Elk Garden. De-

spite limited educational advantages, Mr. Clary was a good

preacher and very successful evangelist. He always saw

the bright side of life, had an active mind, and possessed

n determined will to succeed. His was the happy faculty

of adapting himself to circumstances and making friends

wherever lie went. He was married in 1863 to Eliza M.

Wheat of Morgan county. West Virginia, and had ten chil-

dren. In 15 years he built two churches and received 620

members.

 

CLIFFORD: Theodore K. Clifford was a free-born

negro who ran away from home at the age of fifteen, and

soon afterward enlisted in the regular army of the United

States After the close of the war between North and

South, he returned to Hardy county. West Virginia, and

preached eleven years in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

But having lived among United Brethren people, and,

realizing the pressing claims of the United Brethren Church

upon his race, he joined the Virginia Conference in 1887.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 161

 

and served its freedmen's mission until the day of his

death. He was a man above the average of his race, and

so deported himself as to win the respect and esteem of

the best people of both colors. His upright life was never

questioned, and he manifested his appreciation of genuine

kindness in every proper way. He was a good preacher

and singer. He always attended the sessions of the confer-

ence, but never took part in its discussions unless called

upon. His people were poor and backward, and his work

required long drives to sparsely settled localities. Mr.

Clifford died in Harrisonburg, March 16, 1908, at the age

of sixty-three, having been pastor of the mission twenty-

five years. He had eight children and one of his sons took

up his work.

 

COLLIS: Joseph Romain Collis, son of John M. and

Lucy M. Collis, was born in Berkeley county, W. Va.,

August 1, 1887. He was educated at the Shenandoah Col-

legiate Institute, converted in 1903, and licensed in 1912.

He has preached six years at Reliance and Singer's Glen.

 

COURSEY: William R. Coursey was born in Rocking-

ham county and joined the Virginia Conference in 1833.

He preached in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and

Illinois. He died in Maryland while revisiting the East,

July 2, 1881. As circuit preacher and presiding elder he

wrought great good in the bounds of this conference. In

1841 and again in 1849 he was a member of the General

Conference. As a preacher, Mr. Coursey was eminently

clear, logical, and convincing, kind, gentle, and enticing.

His musical voice, and his countenance, such as one loved

to look upon, gave a charm to his pulpit ministrations.

 

CRABILL: Samuel A. Crabill, a son of Samuel and

Mary Crabill, was born in Rockingham county, in 1862,

and was licensed in 1888. His early pastorates were Pen-

dleton, Toms Brook, and Inwood.

 

CROWELL: Charles Henry Crowell, son of John and

Hester J. Crowell, was born in Clearfield county, Pa.,

May 14, 1850. He was educated in an academy at Church-

 

 


 

162 UNITED BRETHREN

 

ville, Va., was converted in 1868, licensed in 1874, and

ordained in 1882. He has been an itinerant 46 years, serv-

ing Rockbridge, Page Valley, Augusta, Myersville, Boons-

boro, Edinburg, Frederick, Harrisonburg and Dayton,

Roanoke, Berkeley Springs, Lacey Spring, and Great

Cacapon. Mr. Crowell was four years Presiding Elder of

Winchester District.

 

CUPP: N. F. A. Cupp, son of Daniel and Rebecca Cupp,

was born near Mount Sidney, Va., September 22, 1862,

was a Lutheran until the age of fourteen, when he joined

the United Brethren. He was licensed in 1885, ordained

in 1887, and has been an itinerant 33 years, serving Singer's

Glen, South Branch, Winchester, Frederick, Berkeley

Springs, Edinburg, Lacey Spring, Elkton, Shenandoah

City, Petersburg and Greensburg.

 

DAWSON: S. D. Dawson was born near Keyser, West

Virginia, in 1861, and was licensed in 1862. His relation

to the conference prior to 1900 was local.

 

DAY: Gilbert Day was born and converted in Pendle-

ton county. West Virginia. He was licensed in 1883 and

traveled the North Fork mission for $50 a year, but con-

sidered the experience worth many times the money. Three

years later he did very successful work on the Alleghany

circuit, receiving four times his first salary. In 1892 he

joined the Huntington Presbytery, passing a most rigid

examination, and was pastor at Mannington, West Vir-

ginia, and Marietta, Ohio. By 1900 he had been in synod

and General Assembly, acting as moderator in some of the

sessions of the latter. Mr. Day had four children.

 

DONOVAN: John D. Donovan was born of religious

parents in Rockingham county, Virginia, May 10, 1855.

His call to the ministry was clear, and he entered it in 1877,

being ordained in 1881. His pastorates were Bloomery,

Dayton circuit, Boonsboro, Martinsburg, Berkeley Springs,

Lacey Spring, Singers Glen, and Staunton mission. Also,

he was seven years presiding elder of the Winchester dis-

trict, and was twice in General Conference. Mr. Donovan

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 163

 

easily made friends, and among the railroad men he was a

great favorite. He was an interesting preacher and untiring

pastor, and a most successful evangelist. During the last

months of his life, true to his wish to help others, he cared

for an aged blind man in whose home he lived in Martins-

burg, West Virginia, and where he died April 22, 1905. His

wife was Miss Lillian V. Croft, of Staunton. He had an

only son.

 

EVERS: Abram M. Evers was born near Port Republic,

Virginia, in 1837, and was converted in 1855. His circuits

to 1900 were South Branch, Rockbridge, Keezletown,

Boonsboro, Myersville, Hagerstown, Frederick, Martins-

burg, and Churchville. After 1887 he was a member of

the Maryland Conference. In this period he was seven

years presiding elder, three times a delegate to the General

Conference, and built four churches. A daughter married

the Rev. D. E. Burtner of the Congregationalist Church.

 

EWING: William O. Ewing was born July 13, 1866,

and died at Churchville, October 15, 1898. He joined the

church when fourteen years old and the conference when

twenty-three. His pastorates were Winchester, Vancleves-

ville. Singers Glen, Cross Keys, Dayton, and Churchville.

 

FADELEY: Green B. Fadeley, son of Abraham Fade-

ley, was born at Columbia Furnace, Shenandoah county,

Virginia, March 3, 1859. He was converted at an early

age and entered the Virginia Conference in 1886, his early

pastorates being Bloomery, Elkton, Shenandoah, and Lacey

Spring. In these fifteen years he built four churches, com-

pleted two parsonages, and received 549 members into the

church. He was married to Charlotte Shipp in 1878 and

had seven children. Mr. Fadeley has made a record as a

good preacher, an industrious worker, a man loyal to his

friends, who hold him in high esteem.

 

FEASTER: Thomas J. Feaster was born near Mays-

ville. West Virginia, November 23, 1864, and died in the

parsonage at Pleasant Valley, Virginia, August 20, 1906.

His parents were religious and he was converted at the age

 


 

164 UNITED BRETHREN

 

of sixteen. Three years later he was licensed to preach

and a year later yet he began teaching in the public schools

of Grant county. In 1898 he entered the Virginia Confer-

ence and was ordained in 1901. His circuits were Pendle-

ton, West Frederick, Toms Brook, and Pleasant Valley.

He was one of the most promising young men of the con-

ference; a forcible preacher, an earnest Christian worker,

and successful evangelist. In 1889 he was married to Miss

Alverda Hott. Their children were four.

 

FORD: John Henry Ford was born in Ireland in 1869,

and was educated at Dundee, Scotland. He was converted

in 1888, licensed in 1903, and ordained in 1912. During

eleven years he has served Edinburg, Churchville, Martins-

burg, and Roanoke. Before joining the Virginia Confer-

ence, Mr. Ford served two charges in Kansas.

 

FREED: A. D. Freed, son of the Rev. J. D. Freed, also

of the Virginia Conference, was born October 15, 1850. and

died in October, 1877. He was converted in 1867, and

felt a call to preach, yet his diffidence and a sense of being

unworthy led him for a long while to keep back his con-

victions from others. After two terms in Lebanon Valley,

where he made commendable progress and occasionally

preached, he was taken into conference, but the feebleness

of his health compelled him to resign his work.

 

FRIES: William O. Fries was born near Winchester,

Virginia, in 18H0, and was graduated with second honors

from Lebanon Valley College in 1882. Two years later

he completed a full course at Union Biblical Seminary. He

was given an exhorter's license in 1878, and joined confer-

ence in 1881. After preaching at Hagerstown and Fred-

erick, he was three years pastor at Buckhannon, West Vir-

ginia, and principal of the academy at that place, becom-

ing then a member of the Sandusky Conference. To the

close of 1899 he had received about 600 members into the

church. His wife was a daughter of the Rev. J. K. Nelson.

Four years he was a trustee of the publishing house at

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 165

 

Dayton, Ohio. In recent years Dr. Fries has been editor

of the Sunday School literature of the church.

 

GLOVIER: David Franklin Glovier, son of Legrand and

Luvernie E. (Frank) Glovier, was born near Cherry Grove,

Va., October 19. 1889, was educated at the Harrisonburg

State. Normal School, converted in 1902, and licensed in,

1916. He has served the Augusta charge three years.

 

GRIMM: John W. Grimm was born at Rohrersville,

Maryland, in 1839, licensed in 1861. and his first work was

as junior on Frederick circuit in 1862. His later fields

were Churchville, South Branch. Edinburg, Lacey Sprung.

After 1875 his fields were north of the Potomac.

 

GRIMM: Jacob L. Grimm was born near Rohrersville,

Maryland, in 1842. He was of a family of six boys and six

girls.  Three of the former and their father were members

of the Virginia Conference. Jacob L. was licensed in the

historic house of Peter Kemp in 1866, and made his three

years course of reading in two years. His only pastorate

in this territory was Rockingham circuit, 1869-71. In 1887

he was chosen editor of "The Weekly Itinerant" and man-

ager of the Eastern United Brethren Book and Publishing

House.

 

GREGORY: David Thomas Gregory, son of Joseph Ti.

and Sarah E. (Fulk) Gregory, was born in Berkeley

county, W. Va., July 16, 1889. He was educated at Shenan-

doah Collegiate Institute and Bonebrake Theological Semi-

nary, was converted in a revival at Pleasant Plains United

Brethren Church in Berkeley county, and was licensed at

the annual conference of 1915. He was ordained in 1920

and has been four years an itinerant, serving West Fred-

erick, Jones Spring, and Bethany, the last circuit being in 

Lebanon county. Pa. The parents and grandparents of Mr.

Gregory were among the most loyal of United Brethren,

their homes being stopping places for Bishops Glossbrenner

and Hott, as well as others.

 


 

166 UNITED BRETHREN

 

GROVE: Herman Jonas Grove was born at Mapleton

Depot, Pa., March 17, 1899, and is a son of John H. and

Rhoda (Gerhart) Grove. He was converted in 1915. New

Creek is his one circuit thus far.

 

GRUVER: William Franklin Gruver, son of Jacob I.

and Anna M. Gruver, was born in Franklin county, Penn.,

in 1865. He was converted in 1876, licensed in 1887,

ordained in 1889, traveled Singer's Glen charge two years,

Lacey Spring one year, Elkton one year, Edinburg three

years, Dayton Circuit three years, Martinsburg Station

eighteen and a half years. Assigned to Harrisonburg on

September 19, 1921. Served as presiding elder three years

and as Conference Superintendent three years, the two

terms from March 1903 to March 1909. He was appointed

Conference Superintendent again by Bishop Hell in Novem-

ber, 1921. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was given him

by Lebanon Valley College in June 1910. He married Miss

Nellie M. Ruby December 24, 1889, and has three children,

Joseph, Pauline and Paul.

 

HAMMACK: Abraham Statton Hammack was born

near Stribling Springs, Va., his parents being Rev. C. B.

and Mary E. Hammack. He was converted at the age of

twelve, and finished his education at Union Biblical Semi-

nary. He was licensed in 1887, ordained in 1890, and be-

came an itinerant 30 years ago. His charges were New

Creek, South Branch, Augusta, Churchville, and Harrison-

burg. He was then Presiding Elder four years, and for

nearly thirteen years has been Conference Superintendent.

Mr. Hammack was married in 1890 to Josie G. Huffman and

has had six children.

 

HARMAN: George Harman was a native of Pendleton

County, West Virginia, where he was born July 11, 1828.

His parents, Joshua and Elizabeth Harman, died while ho

was still a youth, leaving him with little more than a good

constitution and native talent. By dint of energy, efficiency,

and hard work, he became wealthy and influential. In 1860

he removed to what is now Grant county and purchased

a pleasant home near the county seat. Soon after this

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 167

 

change of residence he was given quarterly conference

license, and in 1869 joined the annual conference, being

ordained in 1876. Although he did not enter the active

itinerancy, he served to the end as a local minister, and

in this field was very acceptable. He always commanded

the attention of his hearers, and was often called upon to

preach at funerals. In the political field he rose to local

eminence and served in both houses of the legislature. At

the time of his death he was serving as a member of the

county court. He was a man of strong convictions and he

had the courage to stand up for them. Mr. Harman was

twice married, both wives being daughters of Jacob Smith

of Pendleton county. He had five daughters and two sons.

 

HANEY: John Haney was born in York county,

Pennsylvania, April 10, 1807, and at an early age was con-

firmed in the Reformed Church. In 1828 he was converted

and joined the United Brethren Church, and the following

year was licensed to preach. In 1833 he became presiding

elder of the Virginia district.

 

HARP: Joshua Harp was born in Frederick county.

Maryland, in 1825, was licensed in 1860, and ordained in

1864. He was a farmer of Washington county, Maryland,

and his relation to the conference was local.

 

HENSLEY: James L. Hensley was born at Harrison-

burg, Virginia, January 24, 1833, and began preaching at

the age of twenty-three. He entered conference in 1859,

and at the solicitation of Bishop Glossbrenner at once trans-

ferred himself to the Parkersburg Conference, in which he

remained twenty-seven years, served with ability nine fields

of labor. In 1885 he joined the Central Ohio Conference,

and in 1900 was living at Marion in that state, holding

a superannuate relation. During his ministry he built six

churches, married 304 couples, conducted nearly 1000

funerals, and received more than 1000 members into the

church. In his youth his educational opportunities were

limited Yet by studious habits he became a cultured man,

and completed a medical course in 1867. He at length

 


 

168 UNITED BRETHREN

 

became a physician and as such was a member of several

medical societies. Dr. Hensley served in the legislatures

of both West Virginia and Ohio, and was a leader in secur-

ing the admission in the former state of a prohibitory

amendment to the state constitution. His first wife was

Eliza J. Stonebaugh of Augusta county, by whom he had

five children.

 

HICKS: James W. Hicks was born in Frederick county,

Virginia, January 20, 1855. He joined the Methodist Church

in 1869 and the United Brethren in 1876, at which time he

was given quarterly conference license. In 1880 he was

graduated from Union Biblical Seminary, and was ordained

the next year. After serving Westernport, Edinburg,

Churchville, and Myersville, he joined the Sandusky Con-

ference in 1888. In 1893 he was a delegate to the General

Conference. He married Linnie C. Nelson at Martinsburg,

West Virginia, and five children were born to them.

 

HISER: Carl William Hiser, son of William F. and

Ida H. (Mouse) Hiser, was born near Petersburg, W. Va.,

April 17, 1900. and has studied at the Shenandoah Col-

legiate Institute and Lebanon Valley College. He was con-

verted in 1912 and licensed in 1915. Mr. Hiser preached

his first sermon in Staunton when only sixteen years old,

and has done itinerant work three years. He was class

valedictorian at Shenandoah Collegiate Institute in 1919.

Graduated at L. V. C. 1922.

 

HOOVER: A. Hoover was born March 10, 1839, and

died at Roanoke. Virginia, February 10, 1901. He became

an itinerant in 1870, and was ordained the year following.

His circuits were Hagerstown, Rockbridge, Straight Creek,

Page Valley, South Branch, and Lacey Spring. Ill health

compelled him to quit the active ministry, but he hoped to

be able to enter it again. Mr. Hoover lived a life of Chris-

tian consistency. He left nine children.

 

HOTT: Jacob F. Hott lived eight miles north of Win-

chester, and the door of his comfortable home was ever

open to the ministers and laymen of his church. He was

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 169

 

a self-made man of excellent qualities and sterling charac-

ter For a number of years he was a local preacher, but is

better remembered as the father of several eminent mem-

bers of the Virginia Conference. Jane, the wife, was a

woman of deep piety and earnest devotion. Mr. Hott was

converted at the age of fourteen, and joined the church at

the same time with Jacob Markwood, whose name was

often on his lips. He was soon licensed to preach, and in

1857 he joined the Virginia Conference, sustaining honor-

ably a local relation the remainder or his life. Though not

an itinerant, he traveled a wide Held, preaching in barns,

mills, groves, and private houses. Mr. Hott was a man

of social attractiveness and sparkling wit. His comfortable

home was a hospitable one. He was deservedly popular as

a preacher. He never left the commanding heights of

written revelation for the low grounds of uninspired

thought, and every pulpit effort was earnest work for God.

He was not a man of strong physique, and at the time of

his death, August 31, 1881, he had not quite completed his

sixty-fourth year.

 

HOTT: John H. Hott, a son of Peter and Tamson

(Scott) Hott, was born in Frederick county, Virginia, in

1835, but about ten years later his parents moved to what

Is now Grant county. West Virginia. In 180 he was con-

verted and took up Christian work. Before being licensed

by his quarterly conference, but with the sanction of several

ministers, he held several successful revivals and estab-

lished a number of churches. These congregations still

endure. Mr. Hott entered Conference in 1877 and was

ordained in 1883. His circuits prior to 1897 were Bloom-

ery, Elkton, Madison mission, Rockbridge, Franklin, and

South Branch. He died in Augusta county, December 22,

1916. While somewhat short in scholarship, Mr. Hott was

a hard worker, a good speaker, and a pleasant companion.

He was three times married and had eight children.

 

HOTT: George P. Hott, a brother to Bishop Hott, was

one of the four preacher-sons of Jacob F. Hott, and was

 


 

170 UNITED BRETHREN

 

born March 13, 1854. After leaching three years in his

native county of Frederick, he entered the United Brethren

School at Dayton, Virginia, passing to Dayton, Ohio, where

he graduated in 1882 from Union Biblical Seminary. He

was given the honorary degree of Master of Arts by

Lebanon Valley College. Mr. Hott was converted at the

age of fifteen, was licensed as a preacher in 1877, and

entered Conference in 1879, serving for twenty-seven years

a number of charges in Virginia and West Virginia. He

was six years a presiding elder, and thirty years the secre-

tary of the Virginia Conference. Four times was he sent

to the General Conference.

 

In 1890 he published "Christ the Teacher," which has

had a large sale and is in the course of reading for licen-

tiates. As a writer of hymns he possessed much ability,

writing nearly five hundred religious songs and a number

of melodies. Nearly all of these have appeared since 1900.

For many of his hymns he wrote both the words and the

music. Perhaps the best known is “Glory Gates." He also

composed programs for Sunday school entertainments.

 

For eleven years he was principal of Shenandoah Col-

legiate Institute, and for twenty-five years a trustee. To

him much credit is due for the success of that school. Mr.

Hott died at Dayton November 28th, 1914, having been in

feeble health several years. His wife was Carrie M. Robin-

son, also of Frederick. He left a son and a daughter.

 

HOWE: George W. Howe was born in Rappahannock

county, September 14, 1831, and died at Mount Clinton in

Rockingham, March 10, 1889. He joined the church in

1867, and became at once an active and earnest worker.

In early life he was a teacher. His circuits were Berkeley

Springs and Winchester, and in both were extensive re-

vivals. In 1869 he was married to Sarah J. Ryan of Augusta

county. During the last fifteen years of his life he was an

invalid.

 

HOWE: John W. Howe was born in Rappahannock

county, Virginia, December 4, 1829, and died at Dayton

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 171

 

Virginia, June 17, 1903. When a youth of fifteen he was

bound to a man who was ever afterward his friends. This

was Samuel Crabill, then living near Strasburg. He re-

mained with Mr. Crabill until he was of age. During these

years young Howe was strong and willing, but wild and

reckless. When twenty-two years old he married Julia

Stickley of the same neighborhood. Soon afterward he

was converted and then became a colporteur and student.

In 1858 he was licensed as a preacher. The next three

years he preached in Augusta, Highland, and Pendleton

counties, building one good country meeting house and

receiving a large number of persons into the church. After

the Civil War broke out he was transferred to Shenandoah

county. Our denomination was then badly disorganized,

but Mr. Howe preached to his people and the soldiers as

opportunity offered. After the return of peace he devoted

himself zealously to the task of rallying the scattered mem-

bership, particularly with the help of revivals and camp

meetings. In these efforts he was very successful.

 

In 1868 he was made a presiding elder and served in

this capacity seventeen years, although he was on several

circuits between the various terms. In Staunton he

organized a congregation and built a church. This was

his last charge. He believed in the itinerancy and would

not consent to serve longer than four years at one time

as elder or pastor. Beginning with 1869 he was in every

General Conference, and in that body he was a great

worker, especially on committees. Finance was his strong

point, and when he was present the taking of a collection

fell upon him. He was several times offered important

places in the financial work of the Church, but preferred

staying in Virginia.

 

His home for some years after the war was at Singers

Glen, and being himself a good singer, he was there in

touch with kindred spirits. He used new and popular songs

with great effect, and helped to get up a small song book

for use in camp meetings. It took well and a large and

better printed book was called for. A company was formed

 


 

172 UNITED BRETHREN

 

for the publication of a new book, which sold at a profit.

Thus started the publishing house of the Ruebush-Kieffer

Company, Mr. Howe being a member, and deriving from

the business a considerable income. He was a good busi-

ness man, and even under trying conditions he was re-

sourceful. Twice his home burned during his absence, yet

he would at once set about recouping the loss. He always

saws success ahead. Withal, he was liberal, and in the

last twenty years of his life scarcely a church or parsonage

was built in the conference to which he did not contribute.

Mr. Howe was always a friend to Shenandoah Collegiate

Institute, and was one of the first men to contribute $M)0

toward the purchase of the school by the Church. It was

through his counsel and help that the Howe Memorial

Building was erected in front of where he lived. He was

a leader in his conference for many years, and during this

lime nearly every important selection of men was made

with his approval. Mr. Howe was a leader of men, a fine

organizer, and a tireless worker. He was as competent

to manage a state as a conference. It is to him more than

any other one man that is due the recovery of the Church

from the disasters of the war. His second wife was Rebecca

Hancher of Frederick county. There was five daughters

by the first marriage.

 

HUFFMAN: George Huffman died at his home at

Mount Zion, Augusta county, October 22, 1888, aged about

eighty-two years. "Uncle George," as he was familiarly

called, had been a number of the Conference fifty-nine

years and at its special invitation he gave a talk at the

close of a half-century of ministerial life. His early experi-

ences and memories were such as the United Brethren,

even of thirty years ago, were rarely privileged to meet.

In the permanent growth of the denomination, he watched

with a jealous eve every departure from established cus-

toms and habits He always took sides and was strong

in his convictions. Everybody knew where to find him.

Yet he sometimes chose his friends from among those

who differed with him. He selected for his funeral text.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 173

 

"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

I will fear no evil; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

 

HUFFMAN: Sylvester J. Huffman, a son of John R.

and Mary P. Huffman, and grandson of the Rev. John W.

Howe, was born in Staunton, Virginia, in 1869. He went

to Iowa in 1885, joined the Des Moines Conference in 1891,

and was ordained 1895.

 

HUTSLER: Charles W. Hutsler was born at White-

hall, Virginia, in 1853, and was licensed in 1877. Berkeley

circuit was his only charge in this conference.

 

JONES: Henry Jones died at his home at East Point,

Rockingham county, Virginia, August 23, 1889, aged nearly

fifty-three years. He entered Conference in 1875, and

labored on Elkton, Front Royal, and Dayton charges, and

was for a while agent for Shenandoah Institute. Failing

health caused him to retire from active work. He was a

man of strong convictions, and would make no compromise

with what he looked upon as evil.

 

JONES: William O. Jones was born in Madison county,

Virginia, in 1874, and was educated at Lebanon Valley

College and Shenandoah Collegiate Institute. He was

licensed in 1894, and his early fields were Berkeley Springs,

Prince William, and Churchville. He is now serving in the

Nebraska Conference.

 

JUDY: Ida MaBelle Judy, daughter of Joel and Ellen

Judy, was born near Petersburg, W. Va., June 19, 1873.

She was educated at the Fairmont Normal School, the

Shenandoah Collegiate Institute, and the Moody Biblical

Institute. Miss Judy was converted in 1895, licensed in

1891», ordained in 1901, and has been seven years an itiner-

ant. Her charges have been Franklin, Westernport, Day-

ton, and Petersburg. She has for some time been a mem-

ber, of the faculty of the Shenandoah Collegiate Institute.

 

KETTERMAN: J. G. Ketterman died at his home on

Lost River mission, December 11, 1884, aged fifty years.

After the close of the war of 1861 he was given quarterly

 


 

174 UNITED BRETHREN

 

conference license, and was a faithful itinerant the rest

of his life. He was a sound and forcible preacher, and was

loved and respected by all.

 

KIRACOFE: J. W. Kiracofe was born near Stribling

Springs, Virginia, and died at Hagerstown, Maryland. Sep-

tember 29, 1914. aged seventy-three years. Five of his six

brothers were also ministers. He entered conference in

1864, and preached in Highland. Rockingham, Rockbridge,

and Frederick counties. After the formation of the Mary-

land Conference, he was pastor of some of the largest

churches in its territory, such as Hagerstown, Boonsboro,

Frederick. Keedysville, Boiling Springs, Newville, Mechan-

icstown, Potomac, and Mount Alto. In 1912 he retired and

made his home in Hagerstown. He was an able pulpit

orator and long a powerful factor in the church. He had

eight children.

 

KIRACOFE: Nimrod A. Kiracofe was born at Stribling

Springs;, Virginia, April 17, 1850. He was converted in

1868, licensed 1872, and joined conference in 188f. After

serving West Augusta and South River missions, Lost

River circuit, Williamsport mission, Deer Park circuit, and

Rockbridge circuit, be joined the Pennsylvania Conference.

During the 14 years after admission be built three churches,

and in one meeting had 93 conversions to report. On one

occasion be baptized 40 persons.

 

LAWRENCE: P. J. Lawrence was born in Loudoun

county, Virginia, in 1859, was licensed in 1879, and joined

conference in 1882. He served Bloomery circuit seven

and one-half years as his first charge. The members

taken into the church in 18 years were about 150.

 

LUDWIG: S. R. Ludwig was born at Rio, West Vir-

ginia, in 1859. After serving South Branch and Lacey

Springs, be joined the Miami Conference.

 

LUTZ: Lewis W. Lutz was born near Middletown,

Maryland, in 1872, and graduated in 1897 from Otterbein

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 175

 

University, joining the West Virginia Conference the same

year. His first work in this conference was South Branch.

 

MAIDEN: Arthur Lee Maiden, son of Rev. J. W. and

Polly A. Maiden, was born near Elkton, Va., August 31,

1886, was converted in 1899, licensed in 1905, and ordained

in 1912. He has been five years on the Shenandoah,

Prince William, and Westernport charges, graduating

from Bonebrake Theological Seminary 1922.

 

MAIDEN: John William Maiden, son of James G. and

Mary A. (Wyant) Maiden, was born in Rockingham county,

Va., November 19, 1844. He was converted in 1869,

licensed in 1875, and subsequently ordained. He bas

preached 40 years, serving Rockbridge, Pleasant Valley,

Albemarle, Shenandoah, Churchville, Winchester, Toms

Brook, Great Cacapon, Potomac Fountain, and other

charges.

 

MANN: Andrew Brown Mann was born in the shire of

Linlithgow, Scotland, of Presbyterian parents, and was

educated in his native country. He was licensed in 1911

and ordained in 1918. His charges have been Bayard, South

Branch, and Staunton. Mr. Mann spent three years in

Y. M. C. A. work, and one year in Canada in special mis-

sion work.

 

MARTIN: William L. Martin was born near Thurmont,

Maryland, in 1845, and was licensed in 1871, joining confer-

ence in 1881. His pastorates to 1900 were Clarke, Mechan-

icstown, Frederick, Myersville, Williamsport, Boonsboro,

and be built a church at Myersville.

 

McMULLEN: Edgar W. McMullen was born near

Singers Glen, Virginia, February 5, 1863, and died at Day-

Ton, Virginia, December 11, 1917. He was graduated from

Otterbein University, which conferred on him the degree

of Master of Arts. He was ordained in 1889, but because

of a weak constitution and poor health be never entered

the active ministry. His pulpit was his class room in Shen-

andoah Collegiate Institute, where he was one of the faculty.

His life was a heroic fight against physical odds.

 


 

176 UNITED BRETHREN

 

McNEIL: William Grady McNeil was born in Mississippi,

in 1889. He was converted in 1907, licensed in 1908,

ordained in 1913. His fields have been Fountain, Elkton,

and Franklin.

 

MESSICK: Lewis Henry Messick, son of William R.

and Mary E. (Hartman) Messick, was born at Mount Clin-

ton, Va., June 13, 1883, and was educated at Bridgewater

and Dayton. He was converted in 1902, licensed in 1907,

and has been an itinerant seven years. His charges have

been West Frederick, Elk Garden, Swoope, and Manassas.

 

MILES: James W. Miles was born in Frederick county,

Maryland, in 1818, was converted in 1835, and was licensed

in the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1841. He joined

the United Brethren Church in 1843 and its conference the

next year. He was ordained 1840 and in 1850 was presid-

ing elder of the territory that became the Parkersburg Con-

ference, with which he was identified after its organiza-

tion. His second wife, Mary E. Jackson was a cousin to

Stonewall Jackson.

 

MILLER: Charles Miller was born in York county,

Pennsylvania, December 6, 1824. He professed religion at

the age of seventeen and joined the Evangelical Association.

In 1850 he was ordained. Some time earlier than this he

was sent to Virginia as a missionary. He located at Pur-

gitsville, Hampshire county, West Virginia, where he was

married to Miss Louisa High of that place and reared a

large family. Soon after coming here Mr. Miller connected

himself with the United Brethren, and in 1874 became

an ordained elder. He was an exceptional man. Although

a local preacher, he frequently traveled a circuit thus serv-

ing several large charges in reach of his home. As a

preacher he was clear, logical, and scriptural. As a lay-

man he was much respected and wielded a good influence.

He provided well for his family, yet gave a tenth to the

cause of the Church. He was forty-five years a minister.

 

MITCHELL: William Davis Mitchell was born in Mont-

gomery county, Va., was educated at Roanoke, converted

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 177

 

in 1894, and licensed in 1905. He has been an itinerant 14

years, serving Roanoke, Staunton, Harrisonburg, Cumber-

land, and Inwood.

 

NEGLEY: J. A. Negley was born at White Hall, Vir-

ginia, December 23, 1831, and died at Arthur, Grant county.

West Virginia, December 27, 1898. He was converted when

about twenty-three years old, and joined the Virginia Con-

ference in 1872. His circuits were Clarke, New Haven,

Berkeley, Front Royal, Lost River, Moorefield, and Frank-

lin. His education was meager, yet he often preached with

great power, the plainness and simplicity of his utterances

being readily understood by his hearers. He therefore

often succeeded where others might have failed. His last"

year in the ministry was perhaps his best, since there were

more than one hundred conversions to report. As a token

of its appreciation the Conference ordered that a monu-

ment be placed over his grave at Mount Carmel church.

Grant county.

 

NIHISER: J. W. Nihiser was born in Shenandoah

county, and died at Keedysville, Maryland, February 26,

1893, aged sixty-six years. He was a brother to the Rev.

Richard Nihiser, and it was through the influence of the

latter that he joined the church. Very early in life he

took an active part in the work of his class. He was a fine

singer at revival meetings and was powerful in prayer. As

an exhorter he was surpassed by few. He traveled South

Branch, Alleghany, New Creek, Franklin, Augusta, Dayton,

and Winchester circuits, on most of which he had exten-

sive revivals. For several years he had been on the super-

numary list, making his home with his son, Dr. W. M.

Nihiser.

 

OBAUGH: William B. Obaugh, son of Mr. and Mrs. S.

H. Obaugh, was born near Churchville, Va., December 6,

1892, and studied at the Shenandoah Collegiate Institute

and Bonebrake Seminary. He was licensed in 1916, has

spent three years on Fountain and Edinburg circuits, and

was graduated from Bonebrake Seminary 1922.

 


 

178 UNITED BRETHREN

 

PERRY: John W. Perry was born at Chewsville, Mary-

land, in 1825, studied at Mount Pleasant College, and

joined conference in 1850. He was a member of the Park-

ersburg Conference from 1857 to 1889, when he removed

to Philadelphia to be with his son.

 

RACEY: Calvin Jackson Racey, son of Morgan and

Rebecca Racey, was born at Old Fields, Hardy county,

W. Va. He studied two years at the Shenandoah Collegiate

Institute, was converted in 1883, licensed in 1905, and

ordained in 1912. Mr. Racey taught 12 years in his native

county, holding a Number One certificate at the age of

eighteen. He has been an itinerant 18 years, having served

West Frederick, Winchester, Swoope, Pendleton, Elk Gar-

den, and Westernport. His wife was Cora S. High, and

he has four children.

 

RACEY: Lee Allen Racey was born near Moorefield,

W. Va., March 28, 1869, and is a son of Morgan and

Rebecca Racey. He was ordained in 1903, and has been

an itinerant 23 years. He has served Prince William, Elk

Garden, Franklin, Toms brook, South Branch, Pleasant

Valley, Winchester, Bayard, Great Cacapon, and Inwood.

He relates that he was reared in a Christian home, and

does not remember the time when he did not consider him-

self a member of the church.

 

RAU: William Samuel Rau, son of John V. and Sarah

E. Rau, was born August 19, 1858, at Edinburg, Va., was

converted in 1876, licensed in 1900, ordained in 1908, and

has been an itinerant 20 years. He has served Albemarle,

Rockbridge, Elk Garden, Bayard, Augusta, Elkton, Lacey

Spring, and Shenandoah. He has built several parsonages

and remodeled still more.

 

REXRODE: George W. Rexrode was born in Pendle-

ton county. West Virginia, January 4, 1821, and died near

Port Republic, Virginia, March 25, 1898. He joined the

Virginia Conference in 1858, and was a member of it forty

years, generally occupying a local relation, and preaching

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 179

 

mostly in his native county. He supported his large family

by following the trade of shoemaker. He was a consistent

Christian and exerted a good influence. In Bible doctrines

he was well informed and he was powerful in prayer.

 

RICHARDSON: Harvey Eugene Richardson was born

at Buckeystown, Md., June 22, 1865, and is a son of James

A. and Margaret E. Richardson. He was converted when

twenty-one, licensed in 1891, ordained in 1898, and has been

an itinerant since 1893. His charges in the Virginia Con-

ference are Berkeley Springs, Great Cacapon, Rockbridge,

West Frederick, Bayard, and Winchester. Mr. Richard-

son has served several charges in Maryland and Iowa. He

had to begin making his way at the age of twelve, and his

has been largely a self-education. He has made quite a

name as a pulpit orator.

 

RIDENOUR: Jacob R. Ridenour was born near Myers-

ville, Maryland, in 1849. He was the first student to enter

Lebanon Valley College from south of Mason and Dixon's

line, and he pursued the scientific course to the senior year.

He was licensed in 1874, and joined conference the next

year. In 17 years of pastoral work he served New Creek,

South Branch, Hagerstown, Winchester, Berkeley Springs,

Keedysville, Martinsburg, and Dayton, and was two years

presiding elder of the Winchester district. In 1893 he took

a superannuate relation because of failing health.

 

RODERICK: Lewis Roderick was a Dunkard preacher

who came to what is now Grant county. West Virginia,

from Frederick county, Maryland. This was about the

close of the Revolution, and he was accompanied by his

brother-in-law, Nicholas Leatherman. He moved on to

Coshocton county, Ohio, and died there at the age of ninety-

six. His son Peter came back to visit his uncle, married

in 1816, and remained. Jacob M., son of Peter, was born

in 1817 on a farm near Burlington, West Virginia. When

eighteen years old he began teaching in the winter season,

still working on the farm in the summer. He was con-

verted in 1843, under the preaching of John Ruebush, and

 


 

180 UNITED BRETHREN

 

was ordained in 1861. Alleghany mission had just been

formed to favor some thirty or more members who had

moved into Garrett county, Maryland, mostly from Somer-

set county, Pennsylvania. Benjamin Stickley was given

$50 in missionary money and sent to travel it six months.

Mr. Roderick then took charge, finding fifteen appointments

and 210 miles to travel each month. He added two appoint-

ments. His salary was $52 for the first six months, $500

for the fourth year, by which time there were 400 mem-

bers. He then served Alleghany, Bath, New Creek, and

Bloomery circuits. Though not a born orator, he was a

revivalist of some note, and several of his converts became

ministers. It was a maxim with him that “the fear of

hell never helped anyone very far on the road to the King-

dom.” He had a fine education and was an authority on

ancient and biblical history. When asked by Bishop Hott

to be examined at Union Biblical Institute for the degree

of Doctor of Divinity, he replied that he could do more for

the Master as Uncle Jake than as Dr. Roderick. In 1861 he

was secretary of a mass meeting that was instrumental in

placing the boundary of West Virginia east of the

Alleghenies. This action cost the chairman and one other

member their lives, but Mr. Roderick was never molested.

 

ROUDABUSH: George J. Roudabush was born at

Seville, Virginia, December 1, 1846, and died December

17, 1916. He was converted at Shady Grove, Rockingham

county, in 1866, and was licensed in 1868. Despite the

limited educational advantages of his early years, he read

many books and was considered a minister of splendid

ability. He traveled East Virginia mission, Elkton, Lacey

Springs, Augusta, Dayton, Mechanicstown, and Boonsboro,

built three churches and two parsonages, and received

about 500 members into the church. For several years he

was presiding elder of the Maryland Conference.

 

RUEBUSH: John Ruebush was born in Augusta

county, Virginia, in 1816, was converted in 1834, and in

the year licensed by a quarterly conference. He joined

the Virginia Conference in 1841, and in 1844 traveled in

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 181

 

the section of the state beyond the Alleghenies, opening up

new work. In 1850 he became a presiding elder, the boun-

dary line of his mountain district being pressed westward.

Mr. Ruebush was a born leader, fearless, energetic, and

enterprising, and of broad vision. While not a profound

thinker, he loved and apprehended the truth of the Bible

and the ways of God. He knew the lessons of love, faith,

and obedience, and preached and enforced them with

power. When in 1856 the Virginia Conference decided to

open a mission in East Tennessee, Mr. Ruebush was chosen

to lead the enterprise. In his first report he says: "I have

found thirteen members scattered over a large territory.

My congregations are very large and attentive. I have my

work arranged in the form of a three weeks' mission cir-

cuit. Last Sabbath I preached in the woods to a large con-

gregation; in the afternoon at a Methodist church, but the

people could not all get in the house." He soon announced

that he had more calls than three men could fill. His

preaching was mainly in the counties of Washington,

Greene, and Johnson. His success closed the doors of other

churches to him. He was advised to leave the state on

pain of personal violence, and though subjected to much

annoyance because of the anti-slavery record of his church

he remained in his field until the war of 1861 had broken

out. He then said that "as soon as the war is over there

will be a ripe harvest for the United Brethren Church in

East Tennessee." He did go back after the return of peace,

and in November, 1866, the Tennessee Conference was.

organized by Bishop Glossbrenner. Mr. Ruebush and two

other ministers were present. There were only 200 mem-

bers, but in 1908 there were 5000 in Tennessee, Georgia,

and Louisiana. In 1860, Mr. Ruebush returned to Virginia,

served Lacey Spring and Edinburg, and in 1874 he was

made a presiding elder. He was afterward on the Boons-

boro and Myersville circuits, but after being transferred

to the Hagerstown circuit, he died at Leitersburg, Mary-

land, in 1881. He was strong as a revivalist, and few

ministers had so much power over an audience.

 


 

182 UNITED BRETHREN

 

RUPPENTHAL: Harry Preston Ruppenthal, son of

Henry M. and Ida C. Ruppenthal, was born at Berkeley

Springs, April 27, 1893. His education was completed at

Lebanon Valley College. He was converted in 1905, licensed

in 1920, and his one charge thus far is Shenandoah City.

During the recent war he was in radio wireless service at

Richmond, Va.

 

SALT: Michael A. Salt was born in Powroun, England

in 1841. While yet a boy he became a sailor and during

his nine years on the sea had many thrilling experiences.

He was converted at 18 and united with the Wesleyans.

He had an impression that he should preach, and once

dreamed that he was preaching in a strange land. The

dream was fulfilled 21 years later at a camp meeting in

Augusta county. In 1871 he came to America and in 1880

joined the Virginia Conference.

 

SAMPSELL: William Hamilton Sampsell was born in

Stephens City, Va., January 13, 1850. He is a son of

Nicholas and Margaret A. Sampsell. He was licensed in

1879, ordained in 1885, and has been an itinerant 41 years.

He has served Franklin, Elkton, South Branch, New Creek,

Cross Keys, Frederick, Churchville, Edinburg, Berkeley

Springs, Toms brook, Jones Springs, Pleasant Valley,

Elkton, Lacey Spring, Winchester, West Frederick.

 

SCOTT: Snowden Scott was born in Loudoun county,

Virginia, December 3, 1821, and died at Seymoursville,

West Virginia, May 2, 1901. He was converted at the age

of fourteen years, and was transferred to Mount Hebron,

Grant county. West Virginia, seven years later. His

relation to the conference was that of local minister. Be-

cause others could not afford to work there, he built a

church at Mount Olivet, Hardy county, and preached in it

regularly many years. Possessing good judgment and

strong convictions, Mr. Scott was an invaluable counselor

to the young minister. In his hospitable home the pastor

always received a royal welcome. One of his daughters

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 183

 

is the wife of the Rev. A. J. Secrist. His wife was Eliza-

beth, daughter of the Rev. Adam I. Bovey.

 

SCOTT: John D. Scott was born in Floyd county, Vir-

ginia, February 29, 1829, and died at Roanoke, Virginia,

December 28, 1907. He was converted in early life, and

received his first license to preach from the Methodist

Episcopal Church, South. In 1874 he united with the

Methodist Episcopal Church and was ordained in 1879.

In 1890 he established his home in Roanoke, and in 1905

was received into the United Brethren conference as an

ordained elder. He was active and useful as a local

preacher, assisting the pastors in their work and often

having preaching places of his own. His breadwinning

profession was that of physician and dentist, in which he

was very skillful. He administered to the poor, regardless

of the matter of compensation. He was consistent in his

life and diligent and earnest in the performance of all

duties.

 

SECRIST: Arthur Jacob Secrist, son of Thomas J. and

Frances V. (Hawk) Secrist, was born February 13, 1872

in Grant county, W. Va. His education has been that of the

free schools and the Shenandoah Collegiate Institute. He

was converted in 1891, licensed in 1893, and ordained in

1890. Mr. Secrist has been in the ministry 28 years, and

has served the charges now known as Hardy, Elkton,

Churchville, Pleasant Valley, New Creek, Inwood, Cumber-

land, and Dayton. He built churches at Cumberland and

Pleasant Grove, and a parsonage at Cumberland. Previous

to entering the ministry, he taught five years in Grant

county. He was married in 1895 to Leona C. Scott and has

two living children.

 

SENSENY: Dr. Peter Senseny came from York, in

Pennsylvania. He was walking in a field in his riding

costume, while Bishop Boehm was preaching, and heard

these words, which were suggested by his presence: "Some

sinners are going to hell with boots and spurs on." He

was converted and became a preacher. He died in 1801.

 


 

184 UNITED BRETHREN

 

SHUEY: George A. Shuey was born near Churchville,

Virginia, June 7, 1815, was educated in a classical academy

at Staunton, and was married to Martha Goldsmith, whom

he met in a camp meeting in Franklin county, Pennsylvania.

He had six children, of whom Theodore F. was chief steno-

grapher in the Senate of the United States. John Ludwig

Shuey, grandfather of George, was born in Bethel town-

ship, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and came to Middle

River, 1795. Like his ancestors, who came from the Pala-

tinate, he was of the Reformed Church. Of his nine chil-

dren, John, born 1787, married Catharine Funkhouser and

moved to New Goshen, Indiana. Christian, born 1792, died

1802, married Catharine, a niece to George A. Geeting.

One of his four children was the Rev. George A., mentioned

above. Another was Maria, wife of Bishop Glossbrenner.

For several years Mr. Shuey was an efficient itinerant, but

at length chose to become a local preacher. As a counselor

he was prudent and safe, and was often in official position

in his church. His home near Churchville was one of

extended hospitality.

 

SKELTON: Silas D. Skelton was born at Mount Craw-

ford, Virginia, in 1860, and was converted when thirteen.

After teaching seven years, he joined conference in 1885,

and in 14 years built two churches and took 728 persons

into the church. In 1914 he was granted a local relation and

lived in Dayton and now is serving Manassas charge. He

was married to Maggie C. Heatwole in 1882. In 1907 he

attended the 5th World's Sunday School Convention, which

met in Rome, Italy, and finished up the trip by a tour

through Central and Northern Europe.

 

SMITH: William Henry Smith, son of H. W. H. and

Flora V. (Rockwell) Smith, was born at Great Cacapon,

September 5, 1886. He studied at the Shenandoah Col-

legiate Institute, was converted in 1912, and licensed in

1914. His charges have been West Frederick, Dayton, and

Singer's Glen.

 

SNYDER: Josiah ¥. Snyder was born at Keedysville,

Maryland in 1866, and licensed in 1888. His first pastorates

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 185

 

were Lost River, Bloomery, Augusta, Berkeley, Martins-

burg, Edinburg, and South Branch.

 

STATTON: Isaac K. Statton was born in Hampshire

county, Virginia, December 25, 1830. He was a son of

Jacob, who in 1812 married Margaret C. Highof. Their

children were James H., John F., Nancy J., George W.,

N. Green, Amelia, Isaac K., David E., Margaret C., Mary

C., and Elizabeth. Isaac K. grew up as free as the fowls

of the air or the deer of the forest. He worked on the

farm, and at times with his father and an older brother

at carpentering, this making him a fairly good mechanic.

His educational opportunities were limited, yet his brother

John finished an academic course without a teacher and

with only a final examination. I. K. entered the Virginia

Conference in 1850 and was ordained in 1853. He was

first placed on the Hagerstown circuit as junior. Next year

he was on the Winchester circuit. Sixteen appointments

were filled every five weeks by each preacher, and though

the work was hard, there was the beginning of a useful life.

Mr. Statton then served Mason, Buckhannon, Churchville,

and Meyersville. He was next appointed a missionary to

Kansas and solicited donations to build a church in that

new country. The appointment was reconsidered because

of political excitement and border warfare. For the rest

of the period before the civil war his fields were Frederick

and Hagerstown. 1858 was a banner year on the Frederick

circuit, there being 150 conversions and over 100 acces-

sions. Late in March, 1861, he took a train for Le Harp,

Illinois, and in July bought forty acres at St. John, Missouri,

intending to retire from the ministry. Before reaching

their destination the family ran upon small squads, both

of Confederates and Unionists, and were compelled to turn

back, leaving much of their effects in the road. After sun-

dry discomforts and some experiences with bills emanating

from broken banks, they got back to Le Harp, their per-

sonal effects now reduced to one trunk and one small box.

Joseph Watson, an old friend, sent him an invitation to

take Pine Creek circuit. Rock River Conference. Mr. Stat-

 


 

186 UNITED BRETHREN

 

ton accepted at once, but the elder had given the place to

another man. He then worked in the harvest field, and

three months as a supply for a minister smitten with sore

eyes. For the latter service he received five dollars in

money, one ham, a few potatoes, and one sack of flour. At

the conference Bishop Markwood replenished his empty

purse, and had him put on Princeton station, where there

were nine members and a debt of $1,000. But he had a

good year and the largest salary he had yet enjoyed — $400.

He remained in the West, preaching in Illinois, Iowa, and

California. In a ministry of almost fifty years, he had

preached over 6000 times, married 815 couples, and con-

ducted 1,027 funerals, some of suicides, and some of men

killed in battle. He built five churches and five parsonages.

He had moved twenty-three times, was two times in Gen-

eral Conference, and entertained that body once — at Lis-

bon, Iowa. Mr. Station remarks in his letter that if all the

people to whom he had preached were "gathered in one

congregation, he would certainly be overwhelmed with

awful thoughts of his responsibility."

 

STOVER: George Washington Stover, son of Joshua

H. and Frances. M. Stover, was born near Mount Pisgah

Church, Augusta county, Va., June 5, 1862. He studied

two years at the Augusta Military Academy, was converted

in 1892, licensed in 1893, ordained in 1896, and has been

an itinerant since 1896, serving Prince William, Jones

Springs, Staunton, and Winchester. Mr. Stover studied

medicine and passed an examination in 1893.

 

TABB: Theodore Turner Tabb was born near Hedgesville,

West Virginia, and was drowned June 17, 1909, while bath-

ing at a seabeach in Japan. He was converted at the age

of fourteen, and was graduated from the Shenandoah Col-

legiate Institute in 1901. He then began to preach, having

been licensed 1899. In 1907 he was graduated from Van-

derbilt University. While studying here he felt it his duty

to labor in Japan, and volunteered for that field a few

weeks after his graduation, sailing for Yokohama in July

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 187

 

of the same year. He was installed as teacher of English

in Hagi, a city of 20,000 on the north coast of the principal

island. He taught here two years meanwhile conducting

Bible classes among the students. His only white acquaint-

ance in the city was an old French Catholic priest who be-

came greatly attached to him. About one month before

his untimely death he accepted the principalship of a large

school in Korea. By the Japanese he was held in high

esteem, and the impression he made on them was excellent.

 

TALLHELM: Henry Tallhelm died May 30, 1902 at

the age of seventy-eight. He joined the Virginia Confer-

ence in 1851, and a year later was appointed to Berkeley

Springs circuit. His next charges were Woodstock, Lacey

Springs, Rockingham, Pleasant Grove, Frederick circuit,

Tuscarora, East Virginia. In 1871 he was granted at his

own request an honorable dismissal from the church and

conference. He then entered the ministry of the Reformed

Church, but in 1900 he returned to the denomination of

his first choice, spending his last years at Edinburg, Vir-

ginia. In 1859 he was married to Marry E. Koontz. Mr.

Tallhelm was good, humble, peaceable, and faithful.

 

THOMAS: P. H. Thomas was born in Frederick county,

Maryland, February 25, 1810, and died near Jones' Springs,

W. Va., February 13, 1889. Between 1867 and 1877, he

served successively, Winchester, Martinsburg, Singers Glen.

Back Creek, and Opequon. Being subsequently in feeble

health, he took a local relation.

 

UMSTOT: Zimri Umstot was a native of what is now

Mineral county. He was converted when about twenty

years old, and received quarterly conference license in

June, 1863. He was kind and persuasive, a good man and

fine preacher. He was of fine judgment and firm in his

opinions. Mr. Umstot died August 26, 1883 at the age of

forty-three.

 

UNDERWOOD: I. M. Underwood was born in Tyler

county, West Virginia, in 1851, converted in 1867, and in

 


 

188 UNITED BRETHREN

 

the same year licensed. He entered the Parkersburg Con-

ference in 1870 and three years later was transferred to

this conference. Mr. Underwood made himself a record

as a firm prohibitionist, and as a congressional candidate

of the Prohibition party in 1890 received a majority of the

votes in the town where he was living.

 

WALTERS: J. William Walters was born at Luray,

Virginia, August 18, 1812, and died in his native county,

July 12, 1910. He was converted late in life, but soon was

given a quarterly conference license, and sometimes had

charge of a circuit. He was a fluent speaker, but was

guarded in his social conversation. Also, he was a tireless

worker and built two churches, one in Page comity and

one in Warren. In 189,' he joined the Virginia Conference

and was ordained before completing his course of reading.

But though old and feeble, he kept his promise and at the

last conference he attended he presented his papers on

the fourth year's course of study.

 

WALTON: Arthur P. Walton was born near Mount

Solon, Virginia, in 1876, and converted at the age of six-

teen. He was licensed in 1896 and in the next three years

had built three churches.

 

WELLER: P. W. Weller was eight years a member of

this conference, and was held in great esteem by its other

members. He was a young man of earnest and faithful

piety and high ideals. His elevated purpose led him to

enter Lebanon Valley College, and then to continue his

studies in Westfield College in Illinois, where he supported

himself by teaching music. He died a member of the

senior class in the spring of 1880. The Virginia Conference

made an appropriation to place a tombstone over his grave.

 

WIDMEYER: Joseph E. Widmeyer was born July 21,

185t), and died May 8, 1881. He was converted at the age

of fifteen and became a member of this conference in 1876.

His fields were Alleghany, Highland, and South Branch

circuits, and Westernport and Martinsburg stations. His

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 189

 

last year was the most successful. In 1879 he was married

to Miss Belle Howe.

 

WILT: William Abraham Wilt was born in Snyder

county, Penn., September 1, 1888, his parents being John

D. and Susan (Birkhart) Wilt. He completed his educa-

tion at Susquehanna University and Bonebrake Theological

Seminary, graduating from the latter in 1915. He was con-

verted in 1901, licensed in 1912, ordained in 1915, and has

been four years an itinerant, serving Harrisonburg and

Keyser.

 

WINE: Samuel K. Wine was born in west Rockingham

in 1852, and died at Fayettesville, Penn., January 21, 1911.

In 1875 he graduated from Lebanon Valley College, but

studied also at Otterbein and Princeton universities. Among

his charges in this conference were Ottobine, Mount Clin-

ton, Dayton, Harrisonburg, Strasburg, and Winchester.

After removing to Pennsylvania he served several charges

there. Mr. Wine married Miss Lizzie Keys, of New Erec-

tion and had three children.

 

YOUNG: Robert Newton Young was born at Wolver-

hampton, England, August 18, 1885, and was educated

in Scotland. He was licensed in 1912 and ordained in 1921.

His charges have been South Branch, Bayard, Edinburg,

Reliance, and Churchville. The wife of Mr. Young is a

native of Scotland. Their three living children were born

in the United States.

 

ZAHN: John Zahn was a member of the General Con-

ference of 1829, and was present in the Virginia Confer-

ence when the whole Church in the East was embraced

in the Hagerstown Conference. He preached at the funeral

of Bishop Newcomer. When the church in the East was

all in one conference he was one of its most promising

ministers. At the time of his death — April 11. 1861 – he

was one of the oldest preachers in the church.

 

ZEHRUNG: Samuel Zehrung, born May 9, 1812, died

June 6, 1849, was buried in the Funkhouser burying ground

on Mill Creek near Mount Jackson.

 


 

190

 

CHAPTER XXI

EARLY DEATHS AMONG MINISTERS

 

The proverb that death loves a shining mark seems

applicable to the early deaths of those of our number whose

light began to shine in early life.

 

Peter Whitesel, whose father's house in Rockingham

vas one of the first preaching places of the German evange-

lists, became a companion of the early ministers, married

a daughter of Bishop Brown of Pennsylvania, and after

seven years of service laid down his life. His father gave

the land for Whitesel’s church, the first house of worship

built by the United Brethren in Virginia.

 

John Gibbons, a young, bashful boy, embraced religion

at a camp meeting on the land of Peter Ruebush, near his

home in Augusta, and immediately responded to the call

to preach. This was in opposition to the wish of the family,

who were not of the church he joined. Young Gibbons

could preach from the start, and a most promising career

appear to lie before him. Yet after only three years of

ministerial service he died at Burlington, W. Va. Almost

fifty years later the Conference placed a monument over

his grave at the old stone church.

 

In the same year — 1847 — Richard Nihiser died a most

triumphant death at Chewsville, Maryland. We was reared

and converted near Mount Hebron, Shenandoah county.

He was great in prayer and song, pious and studious. His

body was interred in the churchyard at St. Paul's, Hagers-

town, Maryland, but was removed to help make room for

the new church now covering the spot.

 

Jacob A. Bovey, a West Virginian, fell a victim to

typhoid fever, and was buried at Edinburg, Virginia, in

November, 1859. His dying message was, "Say to my

brethren I die in the faith I have preached."

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 191

 

Samuel Evers died in June, 1861, just as the war-clouds

were gathering. He was undertaking an important work

as teacher, and it had been only two years since joining

conference. His health had been undermined in his efforts

to secure a college education. He was buried in the ceme-

tery of the Union Presbyterian church at Cross Keys.

 

Under privations and with much toil, P. W. Weller was

preparing for a career full of promise. Yet within a few

weeks from the time when he was to receive a diploma

from the college at Westfield, he was called to his long

home.

 

Dorsey Freed, son of the Rev. John P. Freed of Vir-

ginia and Maryland, spent several years in college, only Jo

leave his first charge and die at his father's home in 1876.

 

Charles M. Hott, the brightest of a bright family, an

eloquent preacher and charming singer, a young man of

splendid ability and great character, served but one pas-

torate. He was then called to become a college preacher

in California, but after a few months was called home,

leaving a wife and two children.

 

James E. Whitesel, son of Simon Whitesel, and born

in 1851, was a most conscientious and loyal Christian. He

began a university course while yet in his teens, and after

good work on several charges was sent to Churchville,

where he built a church that was the best in the conference

at the time. But overworking himself, his promising career

was cut short at the age of twenty-seven by typhoid fever.

His body rests at Whitesel's chapel. He left a noble wife

and three little children.

 

At the same place and in the same house, almost exactly

twelve years later, died William O. Ewing, a victim to the

same scourge. He also left three little children. His most

estimable wife was a daughter of David Hott.

 

J. E. Widmeyer, after being six years a member of the

conference, fell asleep at Newtown, Virginia, and is buried

 


 

192 UNITED BRETHREN

 

 

 

at Winchester. Never strong, he could not resist the

insidious attack of disease following a winter of earnest

revival work. His wife, a daughter of the Rev. John W.

Howe, and two little children were sorely bereft.

 

Kingsley Funk, son of R. W. Funk, of Singers Glen, was

one of our brightest prospects for the ministry in later

years. But while still in school he fell a victim to influenza

and died a triumphant death in 1918.

 

In contemplating these short careers one instinctively

asks the question: Why these untimely deaths? Although

the veil cannot he pierced to learn the answer, the labors of

these men were not without result. "Their works do fol-

low them."

 


 

193

CHAPTER XXII

CHURCH DEDICATIONS

 

Note: "Built by" refers to the minister in whose pas-

torate the church was built. "Built through" refers to the

person or persons mainly instrumental in effecting the

work.

 

Alpine, Berkeley Springs circuit: built by C. D. Bennett;

dedicated August 6, 1905, by A. S. Hammack; cost, $550.

 

Antioch, on New Creek circuit; built by J. H. Brunk,

1899, dedicated by Bishop Weaver; cost, $1,000; a school-

house previously used forty years.

 

Bayard: built by W. S. Rau; dedicated by H. H. Fout,

November 19, 1906; cost, $2,100.

 

Belmont: dedicated 1884, by A. P. Funkhouser; cost,

$1,000.  

 

Berkeley Springs station; frame; built by G. W. Howe,

1869; dedicated 1870 by Bishop Weaver; cost, $1,000;

second church Concrete block) built by Geo, P. Hott; dedi-

cated June, 30, 1907, by Bishop J. S. Mills; cost, $678.84;

parsonage Concrete block) built 1903 by E. E. Neff; cost,

$4,200.

 

Bethel, on Toms Brook circuit; built by Henry Jones;

cost, $800.

 

Bethel, on Lacey Spring circuit; built by J. M. Eavy;

built through A. C. Long and Betty Flook; dedicated by

J W. Howe about 1889; cost $1,000; preaching for many

years previously in the old school Lutheran near by.

 

Bethlehem; brick; built through the Shueys; dedicated

by Bishop Glossbrenner, cost, $1,300; one of the first

preaching points in the valley; at this place during the

Annual Conference in 1852 Bishop Glossbrenner took the

first missionary offering ever taken in the denomination.

Bishop Erb presiding; second church built by G. A. Mc-

Guire; dedicated by A. S. Hammack September 21st, 1918;

cost, $7,320.

 


 

194 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Big Pool: built by M. D. Mayselles; built through N. E.

Funkhouser; dedicated August, 1911, by A. S. Hammack;

cost, $1,500.

 

Blairton: built by J. H. Ford; dedicated April 14, 1918,

by Bishop W. M. Bell; cost, $12,000.

 

Bluff Dale, Albemarle circuit; dedicated by J. W. Howe.

 

Bridgewater: originally the private property of

 

Hoover, with entrance at rear; after Hoover was drowned,

bought from executors about 1858 with money raised by

J. Markwood and wife; never much congregation; sold by

quarterly conference and Act of Assembly through J. W.

Howe; of proceeds, 40 per cent given to Augusta circuit

parsonage at Spring Hill, 60 per cent to district parsonage

at Dayton, the first and only presiding elder parsonage;

cost, $500.

 

Broadway: built by C. D. Helbert; dedicated by Bishop

Dickson, 1891; cost, $1,500.

 

Buckhall, Prince William circuit: built by A. V. Van-

dersmith; dedicated by A. S. Hammack, February 18th,

1905; cost, about $1,000.

 

Buck Hill, Jones Spring circuit: built by J. G. Ketchem;

dedicated July, 1911, by W. F. Gruver; cost, $600.

 

Cabin Run, West Frederick circuit: weatherboarded and

plastered; built probably by B. Stickley; improved by W. J.

Miller about 1875; cost, $600.

 

Cedar Grove: dedicated by J. D. Donovan, about 1888;

cost, $500.

 

Cherry Grove: built by W. F. Gruver and J. D. Dono-

van; dedicated about 1890 by J. N. Fries; cost, $600.

 

Cherry Run: built by D. G. Brimlow, 1914; dedicated

November 1st, by A. S. Hammack.

 

Churchville: built by J. E. Whitesel, 1878; dedicated by

Z. Warner; cost, $3,500; old church built in partnership

with the Methodists.

 

Clay Hill, Rockbridge circuit: built, 1856; dedicated by

Bishop Glossbrenner; cost, $600.

 

Claysville, New Creek circuit: built by William Fout,

about 1850-55.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 195

 

Colvinstown, Edinburg circuit: built by J. D. Freed,

1872; dedicated by Bishop Weaver; cost, $1,500.

 

Crabbottom, Pendleton circuit: dedicated 1902, by

A. P. Funkhouser.

 

Cumberland: built by A. J. Secrist; dedicated December

20th, 1908, by W. F. Gruver; cost, $6,604.81.

 

Dayton: dedicated June, 1878 by Bishops Glossbrenner

and Hott; cost, $2,500; built by A. P. Funkhouser; burnt

down 1904; second (brick) dedicated 1904, by Bishop W.

M. Weekley; cost, $6,100; addition dedicated by Bishop

W. M. Bell April 14th, 1918; cost, $5,000.

 

East Point: dedicated about 1895 by J. W. Hicks; cost,

$1,000; preaching in free church near by for at least forty

years; Noah Shuler (?) a member of first congregation.

 

Edinburg: built 1850; cost, $500.

 

Fountain: built by C. P. Dyche; dedicated May 6th,

1906, by George P. Hott; cost, $1,495.

 

Fern Hill, Swift Run circuit: built by Carl W. Hiser

and E. E. Miller, 1919; cost, $1,350.

 

Fairview, at Laymansville: built by J. F. Snyder, 1900;

dedicated by H. H. Fout; frame; cost, $1,200; seating

capacity, 300.

 

Fairview: built, 1869 by P. H. Thomas, dedicated by

Bishop Glossbrenner; cost, $1,000; class now disbanded.

 

Fairview: built by W. L. Childress, 1896; dedicated by

A. P. Funkhouser.

 

Friendship: first church built 1867 by J. W. Howe (?),

cost, $800; second by C. H. Crowell about 1890; cost, $1,000.

 

Friendship, Inwood circuit: built by W. J. Lower, 1868;

cost, $1,000.

 

Greensburg: first church (brick) built about 1878 by

J. W. Kiracofe, cost, $1,500; second, built 1889 by W. F.

Gruver; dedicated by J. D. Donovan; cost, $2,500; pre-

vious preaching in a log church burned during the war;

brick parsonage built by J. W. Howe, 1874, at cost of $1,500.

 

Greenway: built by S. K. Wine, 1899; dedicated by Dr.

Carter; cost, $1,200.

 


 

196 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Grove Hill: dedicated by J. W. Howe about 1867; new

church dedicated 1894; cost, $1,000.

 

Harrisonburg: first church built 1896-97; second church

(stone) built 1917-18; dedicated June 1st, 1918, by Bishop

W. M. Weekley; cost, $93,000; construction manager, E. C.

Wine; building, committee, F. W. Liskey, J. R. Liskey,

D. H. Liskey, W. I. Good, and J. K. Pifer; parsonage built

1911; cost, $3,600.

 

Herwin Chapel: built near Linville by G. B. Fadeley;

dedicated by W. L. Childress, 1899; cost, $800.

 

Hazlewood, on Prince William circuit: bouiht 1895

from Presbyterians for $120.

 

Hishman, Hardy circuit: built by G. A. McGuire, and

T. J. Coffman; dedicated August 18th, 1917, by A. S. Ham-

mack; cost, $1,300.

 

Inwood: built by P. B. S. Busey, 1895; dedicated by

Bishop Kephart; cost, $1,500; parsonage built by Busey,

1897, at cost of $1,000; practically rebuilt 1915.

 

Jenkins Chapel, Hardy circuit: struck by lightning and

burned to the ground 1918; no insurance; restoration be-

gun by T. J. Coffman; built by B. F. Spitzer; dedicated by

W. G. Clegg 1920; cost, $1,500.

 

Johnsontown, W. Va., Christian church bought and re-

modeled under leadership of I. Summers; dedicated June

25th, 1916.

 

Keezletown: built about 1850 on land given by Amos

Keezle; second church by S. L. Baugher; dedicated by A. S.

Hammack, November 25, 1917; cost, $1,100.

 

Keplinger Chapel in Brock's Gap: log, built through

George Keplinger; dedicated by Bishop Markwood about

1858; cost, $500.

 

Kessell, South Branch circuit: built by J. W. Wright,

1917; dedicated by A. S. Hammack; cost, $2,300.

 

Keyser: first church (frame) dedicated August 7th,

1904, by Bishop W. M. Weekley; cost, $5,350; built by S.

R. Ludwig; second church corner stone laid September 4th,

1921; to be built of white vitrified brick; to cost $60,000;

W. A. Wilt, pastor.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 197

 

Lacey Spring: built through A. C. Long; dedicated

about 1877; cost, about $3,800.

 

Martinsburg mission station begun 1867, worshiping in

Ridenour's stone house till a church was completed the

same year, and with Smoketown, Greensburg, and Friend-

ship as outside appointments; the old church followed by

a new; pastors— W. J. Lower (1867-70), J. W. Howe

(1871-5), A. M. Evers (1875-6), J. K. Nelson (1878-80), J.

E. Weidmeyer (1880), J. M. Underwood (1881), J. D.

Donovan (1882), M. F. Keiter (1883), M. L. Mayselles

(1884), J. R. Ridenour (1885-9), J. B. Chamberlain 1891-

95), O. W. Burtner (1895), J. F. Snyder (1896), W. F.

Gruver. New church dedicated October 8, 1912 by Bishop

T. C. Carter; built by W. F. Gruver; cost, $21,000.

 

Manassas: church and parsonage bought of the Metho-

dists through efforts of L. C. Messick, 1917.

 

Midland in Prince William county: built by G. W.

Stover; dedicated by A. P. Funkhouser about 1893; cost.

$1,000.

 

Mount Bethel, Augusta circuit: built by G. W. Rexrode

1890; dedicated by A. P. Funkhouser; cost, $1,000.

 

Mount Carmel: built by J. W. Hicks in second year of

his pastorate; cost, $800.

 

Mount Carmel: built 1873 by James Whitesel, dedicated

by Bishop Edwards; brick; cost, $2,000; seating capacity,

350.

 

Mount Carmel in Brock's Gap: built by M. F. Keiter;

 

dedicated about 1877 by J. K. Nelson; cost, $300.

 

Mount Clinton: built by J. W. Howe; dedicated by

Bishop Hott, October, 1880; cost, $1,300.

 

Mount Hebron, Toms Brook circuit: built by J. Rue-

bush about 1846; dedicated by Bishop Glossbrenner; cost.

$1,000; preaching for many years in Blind's log school-

house near the church, on the land of Jacob Funkhouser.

father of G. W. Statton's first wife; third church built 1897,

by L. W. Lutz, dedicated by J. D. Donovan — a frame build-

ing seating 250 and costing $650; remodeled by F. B. Chubb

1915; cost, $2,250.

 


 

198 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Mount Hebron, West Frederick circuit: built by George

McGuire; dedicated by A. S. Hammack, July, 1911; cost,

$700.

 

Mount Hermon, Edinburg circuit: built by J. W. Hicks;

cost, $800.

 

Mount Horeb: built through M. G. Jones; dedicated by

Bishop Edwards, 1878; cost, $1,500.

 

Mount Olive: built 1885 by Snowden Scott, dedicated

by J. W. Hicks; frame; cost, $1,000; seating capacity, 250.

 

Mount Olive: built 1869 (?) by J. K. Nelson; cost, $800;

preaching many years in Jenkins' schoolhouse.

 

Mount Pisgah, Augusta circuit: log church built by

Jacob C. Spitler about 1850; cost, $500; second by S. K.

Wine, 1881; cost, $1,200; dedicated by C. I. B. Brane.

 

Mount Pleasant station: built by H. Tallhelm about

1870; dedicated by Bishop Weaver; cost, $1,000.

 

Mount Pleasant, Berkeley Springs circuit: built 1870;

cost, $500.

 

Mount Pleasant, West Frederick circuit: built about

1857 by I. Baltzell; cost, $500.

 

Mount Solon, Toms Brook circuit: built by F. B. Chubb;

dedicated by A. S. Hammack, May 28th, 1916; cost, $1,250.

 

Mount Tabor: built before Lacey Spring.

 

Mount Tabor, Berkeley Springs circuit; re-dedicated by

A. S. Hammack, September Pith, 1909; S. D. Skelton,

pastor.

 

Mount View, Churchville circuit: dedicated August 4th,

1901; cost, $850.

 

Mount Vernon, at Shendun: log; built through _____

Spitler, 1828; second, dedicated by Bishop Glossbrenner,

1878; cost, $1,000.

 

Mount Zion, Elkton circuit: dedicated by J. W. Howe

about 1870; cost, $300; new church dedicated by C. I. B.

Brane, 1898; cost, $1,000.

 

Mount Zion: built by Levi Hess, 1855; dedicated by

Bishop Markwood; cost, $1,000.

 

Mount Zion, New Creek circuit: built by W. J. Miller

about 1875; dedicated by Bishop Weaver; cost $1,000.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 199

 

Mount Zion above Mount Solon: dedicated by J. Mark-

wood 1849, a great revival immediately following, con-

ducted by W. Knott and G. Huffman; cost, $800.

 

Mount Zion, Rockbridge circuit: dedicated by A. S.

Hammack June 1903; construction begun by W. S. Rau,

completed by brethren of the appointment, led by C. S.

Yago; cost, $1,000.

 

Naked Creek: built about 1875; dedicated by J. W.

Howe; cost, $500.

 

Otterbein: built about 1834 on land donated by David

Whitmore; Jacob Miller, carpenter.

 

Otterbein, Albemarle circuit: built 1875 (?); cost, $300.

 

Otterbein: first church built by W. J. Miller, 1870; cost

$600; second by W. H. Sampsell 1898: cost, $1,000.

 

Otterbein: Edinburg Circuit; old time church; first

building built about 1840; second church built by F. B.

Chubb; dedicated by Dr. J. A. Funkhouser, September 9th.

1914. Mr. O. Funkhouser gave the pipe organ; total value,

$6,000.

 

Petersburg, W. Va.: built by J. W. Stearn; dedicated

June 18th, 1917, by Bishop W. M. Weekley; G. H. Whitesel,

construction manager; cost, $9,750.

 

Pikeside, Inwood circuit: built by W. D. Mitchell, dedi-

cated August 10th, 1913.

 

Pleasant Grove: built 1838, and $300 raised the day of

dedication; logs hewn in the woods near by, those for the

south side being given by the father of Elijah Huffman,

those for the east by Jacob and Peter Whitesel, those for

the west by Abram Funkhouser, those for the north by

Jacob Pifer; each party gave six of the 24 benches; dedica-

tion by Reeser; pulpit at first on north side; Pifer a car-

penter and worked on the church; George Huffman and

William Knott had a great revival here; new church built

by A. J. Secrist; dedicated 1915 by A. S. Hammack; L. W.

Swank a leader in the work; cost, $2,400.

 

Pleasant Hill, Jones Spring Circuit: dedicated by Bishop

Weekley, August 1st, 1915; built by D. G. Brimlow; cost,

$1,200.

 


 

200 UNITED BRETHREN

 

 

Pleasant Plain, Inwood circuit; built by J. R. Ridenour,

1885.

 

Pleasant Valley: first church built 1860; burned 1862;

second built by P. H. Thomas, 1868; dedicated by Bishop

Glossbrenner; cost, $1,000.

 

Prize Hill, Albemarle circuit: finished by W. S. Rau,

1806; dedicated by A. P. Funkhouser; cost $700.

 

Red Bud, Inwood Circuit: built 1882 by John M. Hott;

cost $1,000; reopened by J. W. Howe, 1806.

 

Reed's Creek, Franklin circuit: built by A. P. Walton

1808; cost, $500.

 

Ridings Chapel: built about 1888; cost, $1,000.

 

Riverton, W. Va.: built by J. W. Brill, 1900.

 

Ridgely: built 1916 through the instrumentality of the

Virginia C. E. Society; cost, $3,000. Tabernacle built by

H. E. Richardson and dedicated by A. S. Hammack.

 

Ridings Chapel. Frederick circuit: built by J. C. S.

Myers; dedicated September 6th, 1008 by A. S. Hammack;

cost, $1,802.

 

Roanoke: first church built by S. L. Rice, 1805; a second

church was built in N. W. Roanoke, and discontinued in

1906; a new church was re-located and built by C. H.

Crowell; dedicated September 20th, 1007, by Dr. Parrett;

cost, $15,372.

 

Salem, near Singers Glen: built during civil war and

dedicated by Bishop Glossbrenner; probably the only United

Brethren church built within the Confederacy; old Metho-

dist Episcopal church at Green Hill bought and moved

to Salem; built by J. W. Howe and W. J. Miller; cost, $500.

 

Salem, Elkton circuit: built by J. H. Brunk; dedicated

November 16th, 1902; cost, $800.

 

Salem, Inwood circuit; built 1870; reopened October

13th, 1907, by W. F. Gruver.

 

Shady Grove: dedicated by Bishop Weaver about 1870,

after payment had been hanging so long that Presiding

Folder Howe had the quarterly conference authorize a sale;

debt paid by new subscribers; cost, $1,000.

 

Shiloh: built by W. H. Clary about 1844; cost, $800;

second church built 1917 by F. B. Chubb; cost $1,400.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 201

 

Singers Glen: built jointly by United Brethren and Bap-

tists, the Baptist interest being afterward purchased; dedi-

cated about 1881; cost about $1,000; second church (brick),

Dona van Memorial, built by J. H. Brunk; dedicated May

27, 1906 by E. U. Hoenshell; cost, $5,650.

 

Sir John's Run: built by W. L. Childress 1897; cost,

$1,000.

 

South Mill Creek, Franklin circuit: built by A. P.

Walton, 1899; cost, $550.

 

Smith's Creek, Franklin circuit: built by A. P. Walton,

1899; cost, $800.

 

St. John's, Franklin circuit: built by J. W. Stearn; dedi-

cated by A. S. Hammack, 1906.

 

Staunton: First church sold to Church of the Breth-

ren; second bought of the Baptists, 1904; cost, $4,000; re-

modeled 1905; valued at $16,000.

 

Stokesville, Churchville circuit; built 1905; cost, $600;

dedicated by A. S. Hammack.

 

Swift Run; dedicated 1870; log; cost, $300; second by

J. W. Brill; built about 1900.

 

Sharon, at Reliance: first church built by P. H. Thomas

1869 at cost of $700, dedicated by J. W. Howe; second, by

J. E. Hott, 1887; cost $1,000; first preceded by partnership

church.

 

Shenandoah City: dedicated 1896; cost, $1,500.

 

Spring Hill, Augusta circuit: built through William Pat-

terson, about 1828; cost, $1,000.

 

Sunrise: built 1885; cost, $1,000.

 

Tabor: built 1854; cost, $600.

 

Thompson (?): built by W. J. Miller; dedicated about

1875; log; cost, $300.

 

Toms Brook: built by M. F. Keiter about 1875; cost,

$1,500; parsonage built by R. Byrd about 1891; cost $1,000.

 

Tye River, Augusta circuit: built by A. Hoover, dedi-

cated by J. W. Howe, 1870; log; cost, $300.

 

Union Chapel: built through D. W. Brenneman about

1885; cost, $1,000.

 

Union Chapel: built by W. R. Berry, 1888; dedicated

by J. W. Howe; cost, $1,000.

 


 

202 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Verona; dedicated by J. W. Howe 1890; cost, $800;

second church built by J. C. S. Myers and W. S. Rau; dedi-

cated by W. F. Gruver, May 31st, 1908; cost, $3,250.

 

Walker's Creek: built 1852; the Presbyterian half-

interest bought out.

 

Westernport: built by I. M. Underwood, about 1879-80.

Rebuilt.

 

Whitesel's: built about 1824; deed made some years

later by Peter Whitesel to George Whitesel, Simon White-

sel, and George Lutz; this log church rebuilt after a great

revival, the first meeting being led by C. W. Stinespring,

about 1874 at cost of $500; weatherboarded, new windows,

change of pulpit and benches; Daniel Sandy (?) one of the

principal movers in this; new church built about 1893 and

dedicated by Bishop Hott; cost, $1,000.

 

Winchester: built by G. W. Howe, 1872; dedicated by

Bishop Edwards; cost, $2,500; parsonage built by J. R.

Ridenour during his second year's pastorate; at cost of

$1,000.

 

Yocum, Franklin circuit: built by J. W. Stearn; dedi-

cated September 13th, 1914, by A. S. Hammack; cost,

$1,200.

 


 

203

CHAPTER XXIII

SKETCH OF ABRAM PAUL FUNKHOUSER

 

In our present sketch we find a life so varied and a

character so full of the desire to help humanity that no

mere statement of facts can convey properly the far-reach-

ing influence of his life. Imbued with an intense interest

in his fellow-men, he strove in every possible way to aid

in their moral and mental uplift. Into the brief outline

of his life which follows must he read the ambition of a

far-seeing man to be a worth-while citizen.

 

Abram Paul Funkhouser was born December 10. 1853

near Dayton, Virginia. His mother was Elizabeth Paul;

his father Samuel Funkhouser. In his youth he attended

private schools and afterwards was graduated from Otter-

bein University, where he received his Bachelor's degree.

Later he received the Master's degree from Lebanon College

and Doctor of Divinity from York College.

 

Immediately following his graduation, he founded Shen-

andoah Institute at Dayton, Virginia, and for several years

was president of this school. During four years he was

superintendent of public schools in Rockingham and

brought the educational interests of the county to a high

state of efficiency. Later he was president of Leander

Clark College of Iowa and of Lebanon Valley College at

Annville, Pennsylvania. For two years he acted as assist-

ance to President Forst of Berea College, Kentucky. Into

this work he entered with the greatest enthusiasm, fulfill-

ing as it did his own ideas in regard to vocational training.

At the time of his death he was financing a student at Berea.

 

By nature Dr. Funkhouser was deeply religious and at

an early age was converted and joined the United Brethren

church. Shortly thereafter he became a member of the

Virginia Conference. He was known as the “Boy Preacher"

at the age of sixteen when he delivered his first sermon

at Mt. Solon, Virginia in 1869. Subsequently he had charge

 


 

204 UNITED BRETHREN

 

of several circuits in the Virginia Conference, displaying

efficiency and executive ability. He then became presiding

elder of the South Branch District and was one of the most

conspicuous delegates in the General Conference. For

years he was a trustee of the United Brethren Publishing

Board. In 1897 he was chosen associate editor of the

"Religious Telescope."

 

The activities of Dr. Funkhouser found expression in

political and civic interests as well as in the spheres of

religion and education. In 1883 he moved to Harrisonburg,

Virginia, and began issuing 'The People," which name was

later changed to The State Republican." This journal was

one of the leading state papers of Virginia, taking for its

chief issues prohibition and clean politics. When the Read-

juster party arose, he began taking a prominent part in the

politics of his native state, allying himself with the Republi-

can party. In 1887 when General Mahone was candidate

for governor of Virginia he canvassed almost the entire

state in his behalf and also did a great deal of editorial

writing. In another campaign he made a race for a seat in

the state senate and though the odds were greatly against

him. he was defeated by fewer than ninety votes.

 

In 1896 Dr. Funkhouser originated the idea of a Con-

federate excursion to Canton, Ohio, the residence of Wil-

liam McKinley, then the Republican nominee for President.

Though almost unaided in his plan, he chartered three

trains and these carried two thousand veterans and their

sons to the Republican Mecca. It was during this presiden-

tial campaign that Dr. Funkhouser was mentioned strongly

for the position of Postmaster General in McKinley's cabi-

net. In 1897 he became postmaster of Harrisonburg, Vir-

ginia, and filled this position for eight years. In his term

and because of his efforts Rockingham was the first county

in the United States to be given a complete system of free

rural mail delivery.

 

His civic spirit is shown in his purchase of the property

that became the Assembly Park. Under his leadership a

tabernacle and cottages were built and the first Chautauqua

in this part of Virginia became a successful enterprise.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 205

 

His talent and ability qualified him for adventure in

various forms of important enterprise, and with energy

and enthusiasm he aspired to reach the limit. He con-

side red no discouragement, paused at no obstacle, waited

for no council, and listened for no applause. Under the

lash of criticism he refused to wince and whine. He was

a preacher, educator and organizer, with power to com-

mand recognition. His mind was brilliant, and it was a

pleasure to hear him speak.

 

The wife of Dr. Funkhouser was Miss Minnie King,

from Westerville. Ohio. Their children are Mrs. Jessie

P. Roudabush, Samuel K. Funkhouser, Mrs. Mary W.

Rogers, and Edward K. Funkhouser. He was a kind hus-

band and father and the Funkhouser home was a happy

one.

 

*****

 

As specimens of Dr. Funkhouser’s literary efforts, we

present his address on "Our Church Centenary," delivered

at Lebanon Valley College, December 10, 1873, while yet

a college student, and his fraternal address to the General

Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church, May

24, 1912.

 

OUR CHURCH CENTENARY

 

One hundred years ago, the blessings of civil and religi-

ous liberty did not crown our country as they do to-day.

Washington — the greatness of whose character every one

knows — had not yet led the American army to victory.

The galling yoke of oppression bore heavily upon our

ancestors. The republic had not yet been established.

Everywhere, the people were rising against tyranny, and

our political horizon was dark. Nor was this darkness

confined alone to the political aspects of the country. In

a great measure, the Church had lost her original purity;

form had taken the place of power. Experimental religion

was unknown even to many leading members of the

Church. Yet there were some worthy exceptions. Noble

men and women, in different parts of the land, were

 


 

206 UNITED BRETHREN

 

endeavoring to arouse and awaken the Church from her

lethargy.

 

Prominent among these illustrious workers were found

William Otterbein. Martin Boehm, George Geeting, and

others, who by their zeal in good works and their untiring

energy brought many souls to Christ and thus laid the

foundation of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ

And now we are about to be called upon to celebrate prop-

erly the one hundredth year of her existence.

 

Let us take a glance at her history up to the present

time. For years Otterbein and his co-laborers directed

their efforts alone to the conversion of souls. Consequently

most of the converts were gathered into other churches.

But from the time Otterbein clasped Boehm in his arms

and exclaimed. "We are brethren," they looked forward

to organic union. But this was not attempted until years

after. At the great meeting at Isaac Long's, God poured

out his spirit upon the vast assembly, composed of mem-

bers of many churches and of as many different opinions.

From this meeting the revival influence spread in many

directions. A few preachers were raised up, who carried

the gospel into the states of Maryland and Virginia. Some

of their earnest workers emigrated to Ohio and soon raised

the gospel banner in the then Far West. Large meetings

were held in many places, and hundreds, yea, thousands,

were converted to God, and scores were received into the

Church. The efforts were thus far confined to the German

language and entirely to the rural districts. Our fathers

avoided large towns and cities.

 

But the country was filling up with English-speaking

people, and thus arose a demand for an English ministry

which the Church was slow to supply. However, when

the ministry was partially supplied with English preachers,

the progress of the Church was rapid. While some were

zealously laboring here in the East, others moved with the

tide of emigration, and were soon preaching to the in-

habitants of the woods and prairies of the West. Thus

the borders of the Church were enlarged, and by the efforts

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 207

 

of earnest men she has continued to advance until to-day

she extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from

Canada to Tennessee.

 

But progress for the first century was slow. Indeed,

viewing it from a human standpoint, it was remarkably

low. Near the close of this period her labor is still con-

fined to German settlements, without a printed discipline,

a printing establishment, newspaper, college, missionary

society, or well organized itinerancy. Two annual confer-

ence districts embrace the entire work, without a house of

worship west of the Alleghany Mountains and but few east

of them. In a tribute paid to the Church in 1813 by the

venerable Bishop Asbury, he estimates the whole member-

ship to be 20,000, and the number of ministers, 100. By

a series of calamitous events between 1810 and 1820, the

membership was so pruned down that by 1820 it numbered

only about 9,000.

 

Thus we see the Church, after a struggle of forty-six

years, with less than 10,000 members and possessing noth-

ing to make these permanent. Indeed, in the decade men-

tioned, despite all the work done, there had been a total loss

of more than 1,000.

 

But at this time God was raising up an English ministry,

and of its success we may judge by examining and com-

paring statistics for the years following.

 

The denominational interest of the Church now began

to receive attention. The first discipline was printed in

1815. In the last month of 1835 the first issue of the

"Religious Telescope" appeared, although in 1815 its cir-

culation was only 3,000. Mount Pleasant College and

Otterbein University were founded in 1817. In 1853 our

efficient Home, Frontier, and Foreign Missionary Society

was organized. In 1850 the membership of the United

Brethren Church was about 40,000. Ten years later it

was 94,000, showing an increase in the decade of 54,000.

 

What is the condition of the Church to-day? Her

boundary is limited by no state lines, nor is she confined

to one country only. Her membership is almost 150,000,

 


 

208 UNITED BRETHREN

 

and she is represented in almost all the states of the Union,

Her territory is divided into more than forty conference

districts, these having a force of 2,000 ministers. She is

making her mark. Her printing house, besides carrying

on a large book trade, publishes six periodicals, whose joint

circulation is more than 300,000 copies. Besides the "Sab-

bath School" and “Benevolent Fund" and "Church Erec-

tion" societies, she has a well organized missionary society

with many missionaries in Frontier fields, and two foreign

missions manned with almost a dozen earnest workers.

Her educational institutions are beginning to be a power.

Besides half a dozen high schools and academies, she has

as many regular colleges.

 

If such be the United Brethren Church, every member

should esteem himself happy that he lives to celebrate

the centennial anniversary of the denomination. But will

we accept the responsibility of our position? The respon-

sibility is upon us and we must accept it. We must not

prove recreant. We all rejoiced in bringing their gifts

to King Solomon, so every one, young or old, man or

woman, should contribute, as God has prospered him, in

erecting monuments to the Lord that shall bless through

coming ages all within their influence. Yes, this should be

a year of rich harvest to the treasuries of the Church.

and especially to her colleges. This year her friends should

place Lebanon Valley College in the front rank. To her.

donations should be made until they reach hundreds of

thousands of dollars. Her halls should be filled with stu-

dents. All this may be accomplished this year by united

effort. There are, at least, five hundred young men and

women in these four cooperating conferences who should

be in some department of college work to-day. The first

thing needful is to make our college worthy in every respect

for fitting this large number for the responsible duties of

life, and the second is, to send them here.

 

We as students have resolved to do our part, and we,

and the world, and God, expect the Church to do hers.

 

*****


 

CHURCH HISTORY 209

 

Mr. President, Fathers and Brethren*:

 

Commissioned by our Board of Bishops, it is a great

pleasure to my colleague, Dr. Washinger, and to myself to

bring to you the sincere and cordial greetings of the United

Brethren Church, and to reciprocate most heartily the

splendid and touching expressions of fraternity of your

distinguished representative. President Lewis, in his able

address to our General Conference three jars ago at Can-

ton, Ohio. We have followed your proceedings in this

body with increased interest and rejoice over all the vic-

tories you have won for Christ, especially during the last

quadrennium.

 

For six quadrenniums, it has been my privilege as a

member of the General Conference to hear and greet the

•brethren you have sent to us with messages of warmest

sympathy and co-operation; messages in the more recent

past, big with the conviction that God has one kingdom on

earth; urging more than co-operation and fraternal sym-

pathy — even the unity of organic union, responding in the

fullest sense to every advance made by our most enthusias-

tic leaders.

 

It was my fortune to be a member of the Tri-Council

which met six years ago in Dayton, Ohio, and to share in

the spiritual exaltation of the whole Council described by

another as "almost a modern Pentecost,” after the un-

expected but unanimous adoption of the resolution offered

by your representative, Dr. Lewis, that "our first and chief

business is to provide for the organic union of these three

bodies;" and later, as a member of the Committee on

 

 

 

*The following address by Dr. Funkhouser was in response to

the resolution below, which was adopted by a unanimous vote.

 

We believe that a union of the Methodist Protestant Church

and Church of the United Brethren in Christ, is both possible and

practical, and therefore we authorize our commission on church

union to enter upon negotiation with the commission of the Church

of the United Brethren in Christ, just so soon as that commission

is full authorized to enter upon said negotiations.

 


 

210 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Polity, both at Pittsburgh and at Chicago, to share in a

small way in the adoption of the Plan of Union, in a very

large measure, your plan of union, which was presented

to the churches interested with so much promise for good

to our common Zion. So that having met with these your

representatives and having learned to know your spirit,

and having familiarized myself with your people and

church life, I am not among strangers; for indeed I feel

like repeating the words of our church founders almost a

century and a half ago — when though strangers, after a

heart-searching sermon full of the unction of the Holy

Spirit by the Mennonite preacher, Martin Boehm, a man

of small stature and plain garb, the stalwart and scholarly

German Reformed Otterbein with brimming heart and

tear-filled eyes, put his arms about the speaker and ex-

claimed "We are brethren."

 

All of these efforts and plans for closer relationship be-

tween our churches have had, from the beginning, our

heartiest approval, and our hopes have been high for

realization of this forward step in the meaning of God's

forces for the overthrow of sin and wickedness in high places.

And my conviction to-day is that the discontinuance of

these efforts for union is most foolish, if not criminal.

 

And in this, without a single exception, to the best of

my knowledge, on every occasion when the question has

been voted on, in Annual or General Conference, these

sentiments echo the expressed will of our people.

 

But Christian people do foolish things. We maintain

schools and colleges, build churches and employ pastors,

conduct Sunday schools and Young People's Societies to

train, culture and save our children and make of them

good men and women, and then we authorize others by

law to destroy our work, degrade and ruin our children;

and we build jails and penitentiaries and hire officers to

harvest this crop of destruction, the result of legislation

winked at and supported by Christians.

 

The Protestant Church in the United States to whom

is committed now, as in the past, the salvation of our peo-

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 211

 

ple and the making of the greatest nation on the earth, and,

through this nation, to reach every other people on the

globe, has divided, according to Dr. Carroll, our religious

census enumerator, into 141 denominations or sects, each

more or less against the other, and this too in the face of

the united hosts of darkness. If the Apostle Paul who

begs us to have the mind which was in Christ Jesus, were

writing us now, would he not say, "Oh! foolish brethren,

who hath bewitched you?" Should we not pray, and that

right earnestly, like the fellow falling from the high

bridge: "Lord, have mercy, and have it quick!"

 

What wasted strength, what a weakening of our forces.

what a dissipation of our vital resources!

 

The tendency of the age is toward organization and

consolidation. The trend towards centralization is univer-

sal. These are the days of integration. The day of indivi-

dual initiative and effort and great achievement is past.

We are in the era of world-wide movement. The world

has become a great community, from all parts of which we

may hear daily, and every man has become our brother.

The problems to be solved and the tasks to be done are so

large that it takes great agencies to accomplish them — not

in commercial life only — but also in the social, educational,

political and religious worlds, the watch words are "Organ-

ization" and "Combination!" And is it not the whole aim

of the gospel and will it not be a glorious achievement to

put one spirit, the spirit of our Christ into the whole

human family?

 

Who is urging this union? Jesus, the head of the

Church. His last prayer on earth was that "they might be

one." The Holy Spirit is our inspiration and our guide.

His first coming was to the disciples who were in one place

and with one accord, and his perpetual ministry is to build

us up together. Common sense and good judgment

appeal to us to be as wise in religious affairs as the children

of the world are in business matters; to mass our forces

and push the conquest of Satan's kingdom, never so aggres-

sive and defiant as now.

 


 

212 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Our laymen are eager to see the methods of practical

efficiency applied to the work of the churches. The logic

of facts is that of such a proposal. They want the comrade

touch of shoulder to shoulder in company rank, the force

of the regiment, the strategic power of the well placed

battalion. For a half million members of our two churches

to be organically related is in itself a stimulus of no mean

order.

 

Who is against us? Satan, the arch enemy. The devil

is a strategist. If he can keep the forces of truth divided

into sections or sects, he will conquer in detail and the

rule of his authority will be undiminished. The open,

active advocates and agents of Satan decry church union,

while pride in what our fathers wrought or left us, pre-

judice of birth or training, denominational greed and

selfishness in all its ramifications, with some good people

who live in the past and question the propriety of a change;

these are the reactionaries clogging the chariot wheels of

progress.

 

A growing sentiment of union is felt among all Chris-

tian people. All churches now have their committees on

church union and a great national federation is endeavor-

ing to bring all the churches nearer together. Men outside

of the church, as well as those within, deplore ecclesiastical

division and look upon sectarianism as a reproach. Unity

does not mean uniformity; but it does mean such a spirit

of loyalty to the master and such a love for the brethren

as will tolerate individual differences and permit individual

variety under a common form.

 

Subordinate beliefs raised to the rank of essentials

block the way of unity. There is no proprietary right in

matters of faith. The basis of real union must always be

found in a common spiritual impulse and life; and it will

be effective, not along lines of history and ancestry, but

in spiritual affinity; not in a common origin but in a com-

mon life — The Union must be vital, not simply formal.

 

There is so much in common between the Methodist

Protestant Church and the Church of the United Brethren

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 213

 

 

in Christ, that the wonder is not how to get them together,

but that they have been so long apart. Each has a supreme

regard for the facts of religious experience; each stands for

the right of private judgment in matters of religion, the

freedom of the local church, and supreme loyalty to Jesus

as Lord and King. In doctrine, they are both Arminian;

and in organization, thoroughly American, and they do not

differ, in any important particulars, in form, sacraments

and ordinances.

 

Neither of us number our adherents by the million but

our crowning glory has been the regenerated heart as the

key to the saved life; and we continue to hold, and God

grant that it may never be otherwise, that our first duty

is to provide for the maintenance of God's invisible Church

in the hearts of his children, God's communications with

the soul are personal and individual and the cry of the

ages is: "O that 1 knew where I might find him!"

 

The more consecrated and enthusiastic our people and

the more efficient and developed our organization, the more

successfully can we respond to this yearning appeal in

helpful Christian service.

 

The marshalling of our columns under one banner and

one leadership and as one host with a single purpose would

be an object lesson in the recovery of Christianity towards

the unity that alone is the Master's plea and a forerunner

of similar movements that may characterize our age.

 

With our principles affirmed and our prejudices denied

in this the day of His power, we stand willing to be led.

willing to act, willing to move out, if it may be into a wider

fellowship and a more abounding service. Mr. President,

"If thy heart be as my heart, give me thy hand."

 


 

214

CHAPTER XXIV

THE CHURCH AND EDUCATION

 

Someone has declared that nine-tenths of all education

since the founding of Christianity has sprung from the

tradition and purposes of the Church. Of course the

mathematical character of the statement is for the purpose

of giving definiteness to a strong claim. It was the policy

of the Church of the Middle Ages to keep the Bible from

the mass of the people and to discourage popular education,

so that all Christendom might he kept in intellectual slavery

to a crafty and thoroughly organized priesthood. The

Reformers, including those who appeared before the Refor-

mation of the sixteenth century, were not at all in sym-

pathy with this idea. They believed most firmly that all

persons should be able to read and write, although their

zeal in the cause of education was primarily religious.

They insisted that their people should read the Bible for

themselves, so that their faith might rest on a sure founda-

tion. Therefore schools, open to the public generally,

sprang up in all the portions of Europe that were deeply

influenced by the Protestant Reformation.

 

But the sect which in 1627 called itself the United Breth-

ren found that "a more enlarged acquaintance with litera-

ture and philosophy had, in some instances, paralyzed the

zeal of ministers in promoting the edification of their

Hocks, and, by the false gloss of heathen philosophy,

obscured the bright purity of Christian doctrine, which

derives all its luster from Christ crucified." These men

"laid greater stress on piety, moral conduct, and knowledge

of the Holy Scriptures, in persons sustaining the pastoral

office, than in human learning."

 

These criticisms are of precisely the same character as

those which have been urged by the present United Breth-

ren Church. The higher education of the earlier day con-

sisted very greatly in the study of the dead languages of

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 215

 

Greece and Rome. When these languages were living

tongues, they were spoken by nations that were pagan,

although at the same time quite highly civilized. The ideas

presented in their literatures sprang from a heathen and

not a Christian source, and to minds imperfectly trained

were likely to be prejudicial. And it must be added that

until within the last half-century there was no very material

change in the course of study in all colleges.

 

Otterbein was recognized as one of the cultured nun of

his day, and he used at least five languages, ancient and

modern. But to him and those who thought as he did.

religion is almost wholly an individual and personal work

within the soul. It is only incidentally an affair of the in-

tellect. Otterbein was not a man to believe very much in

educational religion, which was almost the only form

recognized in the state churches. He could work consist-

ently and harmoniously with persons like Boehm, Gueth-

ing and Newcomer, whose education was not above the

level of a country school training of to-day. Intellectually,

they were not his equals. But in the matter of religion

they stood on common ground. It is perhaps because he

regarded the work of the established churches as com-

paratively inefficient that he let his scholarship lie in the

background. He preached in much the same manner as

his associates, and he never wrote a book. And yet he was

the more effective because of his scholarship. Whether the

advanced education be a curse or a blessing is after all

a personal affair. Nevertheless, Otterbein does not seem

to have been a strenuous advocate for higher training in

others. He perceived that the preaching most needed by

the time in which he lived was of the sort presented by

men of his own kind. "There is no evidence that Otterbein

ever impressed upon his associates and disciples the neces-

sity of educational training. Did he feel that necessity, or,

rather, did he share the popular feeling that scholarship

was generally conducive to spiritual coldness and formal-

ity? At any rate, he acquiesced in choosing and sending

out new preachers whose only claim to ability to teach

 


 

216 UNITED BRETHREN

 

was that they knew God in a powerful, personal salvation

from the power and fear of sin. With some ability to speak

in public, with untiring zeal, and an industry that abated

not, and with assured support from their own resources,

the pioneers carried on a propaganda that made adherents

wherever they went."

 

"Having fled from the persecutions of those in authority

in Europe, who represented, of course, the educated classes,

our ancestors felt that the best in life was to be secured

in the quiet of domestic home life, apart from the knowl-

edge of the world."

 

For several decades after Otterbein, the United Breth-

ren ministers had little respect for what they culled

"preacher factories." Their prejudice against college train-

ing came largely by noticing that in these schools edu-

cational qualifications were more esteemed than spiritual-

ity. In the ministry of the old churches they also observed

that education and a cold formality were closely associated.

So they thought it better to rely less on books than on the

Promptings of the Spirit. This prejudice was held by the

laity as well as by the preachers.

 

It was not until 1865 that the education of ministers was

considered with any favor by a General Conference. The

establishing of Otterbein University was much resisted for

a while, and Lebanon Valley College was not founded

until 1876. In theory the United Brethren membership has

never opposed higher education, except in its bearing on

ministerial preparation. And yet a prejudice against it

in a theological sense could not fail to build up a degree

of prejudice in a secular sense. This prejudice has in

our day been very much overcome.

 

The demand for a change has grown with a growth of

intelligence and knowledge among the masses, and is

insistent as they realize that the leader of the religious

forces of the community must devote his time and strength

to the ministry of the Word. An educated ministry was

opposed by the Otterbein people so long as they saw that

men who made their living by some form of business, and

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 217

 

were without training, culture, or knowledge, were put

forward as the teachers of "the people who perish for want

of knowledge."

 

In the present century it is becoming recognized that

religion without education sinks to the level of a supersti-

tion, and that the proper aim of a liberal education is not

culture for the sake of culture, but culture for the sake

of service to others.

 

"The present feeling of indifference to an educated

ministry results in a large part from the former pronounced

opposition to any culture or special training for the pulpit.

The pioneers themselves were uneducated, and having tied

from the persecution's of those in authority in Europe, who

represented, of course, the educated classes, our ancestors

felt that the best in life was to be secured in the quiet of

domestic home life, apart from the knowledge of the world.

It was this knowledge or learning which they blamed for

the wickedness of those who possessed it.

 

"They were fortified in this position by what they saw

in the schools themselves. A bitter fountain sends out

bitter waters. And it must be admitted that they were

grounds for their conclusions. Even when learning did

not seriously affect the religious belief, its deadening effect

was to be seen in the cold and lifeless formality of the

educated ministry of the existing churches. There was no

stirring of the emotions, 'no heart,' in the preaching which

appealed to the judgment and reason, and, consequently,

what they offered was a 'religion of the head.' This was

believed to be fatal to all vital godliness.

 

"The first member of this conference after Otterbein to

be a college graduate was Samuel Evers, who completed

the course in Otterbein University and joined the confer-

ence in 1857. He founded Pleasant Grove Academy in

1859 and had less than two years of service when death

ended his work in January, 1861. Just before this. D. D.

Keedy and C. B. Hammack had been students at Mount

Pleasant, Pennsylvania, but the combining of this school

with Otterbein at Westerville, Ohio, ended their school

 


 

218 UNITED BRETHREN

 

work, as they did not follow it to the new location. The

next man to complete the college course was J. N. Fries,

who in the centennial year received his diploma and degree

from Otterbein, and has been for forty years a faithful and

successful teacher.

 

"The necessity for college training was not generally

felt. Indeed, up to about this time the old notion that edu-

cation is not an essential for the minister, was generally

held. It was emphasized in my own experience. In the

spring of 1872, Boonsboro circuit, to which J. W. Hott had

been sent, wanted a junior preacher. The Sunday after

the conference, J. W. Howe, presiding elder, and John

Ruebush, pastor, visited me at Keezletown, where I was

teaching my second school, and spent the day with me,

endeavoring to persuade me to accept that appointment and

enter at once upon the work of the active ministry. When

I urged my ignorance and need of preparation, and told

them I was planning to go to college, they re-enforced

their position by saying, 'it is a pity to see a man spending

the best years of his life in school while the world is being

lost.' I was then eighteen. Howe and Ruebush were strong

men, and more progressive than many others, and yet

they reflected the general opinion. Both men lived to

change their ideas entirely on this subject, for a few years

later they were my strongest supporters in establishing

Shenandoah Institute.

 

"Evers, Fries, McMullen, Hendrickson, Harper, O. W.

Burtner, C. M. Good, W. D. Good, and myself* have been

graduated from Otterbein, and S. K. Wine and W. O. Fries

from Lebanon Valley; and of these only Fries, McMullen,

W. P. Good, and the writer are today (1914) members of

this conference. After efficient service in Virginia, Mary-

land, and Pennsylvania, Wine died at Chambersburg in

the prime of life. The others are living and finding fields

of usefulness elsewhere. Eleven have taken a course in

Bonebrake Seminary: G. P. Hott, J. W. Hicks. L. O. Burt-

ner, A. W. Horn, H. H. Fout, J. E. Fout, W. O. Jones,

 

*A. P. Funkhouser.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 219

 

L. W. Lutz, and Lan Seng Nam. C. W. Burtner is a Con-

gregationalist pastor in Connecticut, while only A. S. Ham-

mack remains a member of this conference. Forty-eight

members of the conference have attended Shenandoah

Institute, some completing the full course. Some twenty-five

years ago, nearly all who entered the conference studied

at this school. But in the last twenty years a little less than

one-third, and in the last ten years a little less than one in

five have attended our conference school. Of our present

membership of 58, those who have studied at Dayton, Vir-

ginia, number 22.

 

"J. R. Ridenour. A. D. Freed, C. M. Hott, and P. W.

Weller were students in Lebanon Valley College for one

or more years."

 


 

220

CHAPTER XXV

THE VIRGINIA CONFERENCE SCHOOL

 

The country about Dayton, Virginia was settled long

before there was any village at this point. The little stone

building on the east border, between the Harrisonburg pike

and Cook's creek, was built as a fortified house, and was

surrounded by a stockade. It is supposed there was a

covered way leading to the stream, and a condition in the

crown patent to the land on which the lower mill stands

is that the Burtner fort shall have enough water for its

use. Even before the Revolution there was an Episcopal

chapel adjacent to the town cemetery. On the ground

now occupied by artificial Silver Lake was a Presbyterian

church. The early population of the vicinity was Scotch-

Irish and English and not German. As a hamlet, Dayton

was first known as Rifetown or Rifeville. In 1833, Dayton

was made a town by an Act of Assembly. The first dwell-

ing within the town site was the Rife house, a rough-coat

building that stood on the Institute campus. Previous to

its being torn down by Dr. Funkhouser, the occupant kept

a wagon yard. The Harrisonburg pike was built in 1833,

and in 1840 there were 26 houses in the village. The

union brick church now owned by the Church of the Breth-

ren was built about 1858. Prior to this the only preaching

place was a long shop building. Bachtel had a steel triangle

made, and this was beaten with a hammer to give notice

of the preaching hour. The discovery of gold in California

made money plentiful, and Dayton was on somewhat of a

boom. Property was in demand, houses were built, and

in 1852 the place was incorporated.

 

Shenandoah Seminary was founded in 1875 and incor-

porated one year later. In 1879 it was named Shenandoah

Institute. Its first habitation was the building on Main

street near the entrance to the street leading to the railway

station. It is at present the store and residence of Mr. Stine-

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 221

 

spring. The next home of the school was the building

since known as Ladies' Dormitory Number One and Dining

Hall. Until then this was a store and dwelling house. In

1885 an annex was attached to this building. In the same

year the campus was purchased and maple trees planted

on it. In 1901 the Howe Memorial Building was erected on

the campus, and in 1912 the Administration Building,

opposite the Boarding Hall, was completed. Including two

residences, occupied by the manager and Professor W. H.

Ruebush, there are now six distinct buildings on the lands

owned by the institution, and the total value of the plant

is about $60,000.

 

The school began with 20 students, and there were many

recitations in private homes. A primany school was at

first connected with Shenandoah Academy. The manager,

the instructor of the primary department, and a teacher

of music made up the original faculty. The following per-

sons have successively been at the head of the school:

A. P. Funkhouser (1875-1885); J. N. Fries (1885-1887);

G. P. Hott (1887-1895); E. U. Hoenshel (1895-1910); J. H.

Ruebush, since 1910.

 

In 1902 the institution took the name of Shenandoah

Collegiate Institute and School of Music, and by this title

it has since been known.

 

There are now ten members of the academic faculty,

and eight of the department of music.

 

The curriculum embraces Bible study, English, History,

Mathematics, Natural Science, Agriculture, Latin, German,

French, Elocution, Domestic Science, and the Fine Arts,

in addition to the work of the Shenandoah Business Col-

lege. Music has always been a strong adjunct. In the

school year, 1918-19, there were 115 students studying

music, 101 were taking Bible study, 94 literature, 35 expres-

sion, 18 art, and 2 domestic science. There were 44 in the

commercial courses.

 

The school year, divided into two semesters, continues

36 weeks.

 

Tuition is $50 in each music course, and $50 to $75 in

the academic courses.

 


 

222 UNITED BRETHREN

 

In 42 years over 6,000 students have had partial train-

ing in this institution. 

 

Jay N. Fries was born at White Hall, Virginia, Decem-

ber 13, 1850. His early life was spent on his father's farm.

In the fall of 1869 he began teaching, and in 1876 was

graduated from Otterbein University with the degree of

Bachelor of Arts. He had already been licensed to preach

in 1871. In the year of his graduation he opened a high

school at Dayton, Virginia, teaching it four years, and then

teaching in Bridgewater and Harrisonburg. For 12 years

Prof. Fries was at the head of Shenandoah Institute, and

his term was marked by thorough, conscientious, and suc-

cessful work.

 

Elmer U. Hoenshel was born in Westmoreland county,

Pennsylvania, being one of the nine sons of George and

Mary Hoenshel. He was converted at the age of nineteen

and decided to be a teacher. But he received a license

from a quarterly conference in 1889, joined the Alleghany

Conference in 1891, and was a graduate of Shenandoah

Seminary in 1892. Prof. Hoenshel is very well known in

the Valley of Virginia as an educator and lecturer, and

also as an author. He has traveled in Europe and Palestine.

 

James H. Ruebush was born at Singers Glen, Virginia.

October 17, 1865. Until the age of fourteen he lived on

his father's farm. The family then moved to Dayton in

the same county, where the son attended Shenandoah

Institute five years. His studies in music was continued at

Otterbein University, the Conservatory of Music at New

York, and such summer schools as Silver Lake and Lake

Chautauqua. In these he was a pupil of some eminent

teachers. After teaching five years at Kee Mar College, he

returned to Dayton in 1898, becoming Musical Director

in the Institute. In 1910 he was put in control of the

school. Mr. Ruebush is the author of several song books,

the first of which is "Gems of Gladness." He is a person

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 223

 

of great energy and activity, and brings these qualities

to bear in everything in which he is concerned. Several

times has he been a member of the General Conference of

the United Brethren Church, and he has held several other

high positions in his denomination.

 


 

224

CHAPTER XXVII

A DIGEST OF THE CONFERENCE MINUTES

 

The Virginia Conference, by a decision arrived at in

1900, is the mother conference of the United Brethren

Church. This abstract of the minutes therefore begins with

the session of 1789. Only the more important facts in

the proceedings are here given. This is particularly the

case since the minutes began to appear in printed form.

The reports of the last twenty years make pamphlets of

forty to seventy pages. To the published minutes the

reader is referred for the conference membership and the

names of the lay delegates. The orthography of proper

names is not uniform in the various reports. Since the

compiler could not always tell which form should be given

the preference, he has sometimes followed the variations

found in the minutes.

 

1789

 

Conference at the home of William Otterbein, Baltimore, Md.

 

Present: William Otterbein, Martin Boehm, George A. Guething,

Christian Newcomer, Henry Weidner, Adam Lehman, John

Ernst — 7.

 

Absent: Benedict Swope, Henry Baker, Frederick Schaeffer,

Martin Kreider, Simon Herre, Christopher Grosh, Abraham

Draksel — 7,

 

1791

 

Conference at the house of John Spangler, Paradise Twp., York County, Pa.

 

Present: William Otterbein, Martin Boehm, George A. Guething,

Christian Newcomer, Adam Lehman, John Ernst, J. G. Pfrimmer,

John Neidig, Benedict Saunders — 9.

 

Absent: Henry Weidner, Martin Kreider, Christopher Grosh,

Christian Crum, P. Strickler, Felix Light, John Mautz, Henry

Baker, F. Schaeffer, Abraham Draksel, G. Fortenbach, J. Hershey,

Simon Herre. Benedict Swope — 14.

 

1800

 

Conference at the house of Peter Kemp, near Frederick, Md., September 25.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 225

 

Present: William Otterbein, Martin Boehm, G. A. Guething,

John G. Pfrimmer. Christian Newcomer, Christian Crum. Henry

Crum, John Hershey, J. Geisinger, Henry Boehm, Jacob Baulus,

D. Aurand, Adam Lehman, Abraham Draksel — 14.

 

Absent: John Neidig, Frederick Schaeffer, Abraham Meyer,

David Snyder, A. Hershey, John Ernst, Simon Herre, John Sen-

seny, I. Niswander, Martin Kreider, Christopher Grosh, G. Forten-

baugh, Adam Riegel, Christian Hershey, M. Thomas, Daniel Strick-

ler, Abraham Hiestand — 17.

 

Ten great meetings held during the conference year following.

 

Otterbein and Boehm elected bishops.

 

1801

 

Conference again at Kemp's September 23.

 

present: William Otterbein. Martin Boehm, Christian New-

comer, Daniel Strickler, George A. Guething. Peter Senseny, John

Neidig, David Long. Abraham Meyer, Frederick Schaeffer, John

Hershey, Thomas Winter, L. Duckwald, David Snyder, Christian

Crum, Matthias Kessler, Peter Kemp, Abraham Hershey, Jacob

Geisinger, Michael Thomas — 20.

 

Itinerants: C. Newcomer, A. Hershey, F. Schaeffer, P. Kemp,

D. Snyder, D. Strickler, D. Long, M. Thomas, A. Meyer, J. Neidig.

 

Resolved that each preacher who could not attend the annual

conference should give due notice of that fact.

 

Otterbein preached on the third and last day from Jude 20-25,

on the responsibilities of the ministerial office.

 

1802

 

Conference at the house of John Cronise, near Kemp's, October 6.

Bishops: W. Otterbein, M. Boehm.

 

New members: William Ambrose of Sleepy Creek, Va.

 

Ludwig Duckwald and John Neidig authorized to "administer

all the ordinances of the house of God, according to the Scriptures."

 

By a vote of nine to three decided not to keep a register of the

members of the church.

 

"Resolved, that in case one of our superintendents, W. Otterbein

or M. Boehm, should die, another minister shall be elected to fill

the place. This is the will of those two brethren, and the un-

animous wish of all the preachers present."

 

Otterbein preached the conference sermon the second day.

 

Adjournment third day.

 

During May, June, August, September, October, 19 great meetings.

 

Note: — Soon after conference a quarterly meeting on the old

Huffman place below Pleasant Valley. Guething and Newcomer

went home with the Moyers, who lived in a log house (where now

 


 

226 UNITED BRETHREN

 

is a brick house) near the Mennonite church on the Valley Pike.

They then went 10 miles further to A. M. Hivener's.

 

1803

 

Conference at David Snyder's, Cumberland Co., Pa., October 5,

for a three day session.

 

Present: William Otterbein, Martin Boehm, Christian New-

comer, David Snyder, John Hershey, Peter Kemp, Abraham Meyer,

Christopher Grosh, Christian Crum, Valentine Flugel, John Winter,

Frederick Schaeffer, George Benedum— 13.

 

Boehm and Grosh a committee to station the preachers of

Pennsylvania. Maryland left to the preachers of that state. Bene-

dum and Crum to call a meeting of the Virginia preachers and

arrange their fields of labor.

 

1804

 

Conference again at Snyder's, October 3.

 

Because of an epidemic in the country around, only 5 members

were present. Martin Boehm, Abraham Meyer, Frederick Schaeffer,

Christian Newcomer, Matthias Bortsfield.

 

Died: Dr. Peter Senseny, of Winchester.

 

Note:— In the preceding May, Otterbein preached twice at a

sacramental meeting in the Guething meeting house.

 

1805

 

Conference at the house of Jacob Baulus, near Middletown, Md., May 29.

 

Present: 21 preachers.

 

Otterbein and Boehm re-elected bishops.

 

Newcomer to travel through the German settlements in Mary-

land and Pennsylvania, and Christian Crum in those of Virginia.

 

1806

 

Conference at Lorenz Eberhart's Frederick Co., Md., May 21,

lasting three days as usual.

 

Itinerants: Joseph Hoffman, Christian Crum.

 

Great meetings arranged for.

 

Present: John Neidig, Peter Kemp, John Hershey, Henry Crum,

Lorenz Eberhart, Christian Crum, Christian Newcomer, George A.

Guething, Joseph Hoffman, Michael Thomas, Jacob Baulus.

 

1807

 

Conference at Christian Herr's, Lancaster Co., Pa.

Martin Boehm presided.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 227

 

Present: Martin Boehm, Isaac Niswander, John Neidig, Joseph

Hoffman, Christian Hershey, Christian Newcomer, Abraham Meyer,

Frederick Schaeffer, George A. Guething, Abraham Hershey, David

Snyder, Christian Crum, Christian Smith. David Long— 14.

 

Died: Jacob Geisinger.

 

1808

 

Conference at Abraham Niswander's in Virginia, May 28. 

 

Present: Christian Newcomer, Isaac Niswander, Ludwig Duck-

wald, Abraham Meyer, George A. Guething, Joseph Hoffman, Peter

Kemp, Christian Crum, Jacob Baulus, George Hoffman, David

Snyder, William Ambrose, Frederick Duckwald, John Hershey— 14.

 

Hitherto, the annual conference had granted license to exhort.

The following rule adopted, the great distances to be traveled on

horseback often preventing the attendance of members: "Those

who desire to receive license to preach among us shall be examined

at a great meeting; and, if favorably reported, two of the elders

shall grant them license for one year, at the end of which time,

their license may be renewed at a great meeting."

 

1809

 

Conference again at Christian Herr's, May 10.

Bishop Boehm presided.

 

Present: Martin Boehm, Adam Riegel, Christian Smith, Joseph

Hoffman, Isaac Niswander, George A. Guething. Christian Hershey,

Christian Newcomer, John Hershey, Abraham Hershey, David

Long, David Snyder, Abraham Meyer, Frederick Schaeffer, Matthias

Bortsfield, George Benedum, Christopher Grosh, John Snyder— 18.

 

The subject of union or fellowship with the Methodists received

a great deal of attention.

 

Note: Enoch George (Methodist) and Newcomer and Gueth-

ing (U. B.) met at Guething's home, February 13, 1809. Newcomer

attended the Baltimore Conference of the Methodists at Harrison-

burg, Va., to promote a fraternal union. A committee was appointed

to meet him, and the correspondence thus begun continued sev-

eral years.

 

1810

 

Conference again at John Cronise's, June 3.

 

Present: 16 ministers.

 

Salary of an unmarried preacher fixed at $80.

 

The elder preachers required to visit all the appointments, in

all the fields of labor, twice during the year, if at all possible.

 

A letter from the Methodist Conference on the subject of a close

union between the two churches was answered in a fraternal

 


 

228 UNITED BRETHREN

 

spirit. The church at Baltimore sent a letter to the conference

on the same subject.

 

Note:— The first United Brethren conference west of the Alle-

ghanies was the first session of the Miami, held near Germantown,

O., August 18, Bishop Newcomer presiding.

 

1811

 

Conference in Cumberland Co., Pa., May 23.

 

Present: Christopher Grosh, Christian Smith, George A.

Guething, Christian Newcomer, Abraham Draksel, Christian Crum,

Jacob Baulus, David Snyder, Matthias Kessler, Joseph Hoffman,

Isaac Niswander, Jacob Winter, David Long, Frederick Schaeffer,

Christian Hershey, Joseph Jordan, Henry Hiestand, Michael Baer,

George Hoffman, Peter Swartz — 20.

 

Died: Martin Boehm, aged 86; Peter Kemp February 20, while

his family and friends were in morning prayers at his bedside;

John Hershey.

 

Licensed to preach: Jacob Winter, Peter Swartz.

 

Licensed to exhort: Joseph Jordan, Michael Hershey.

 

1812

 

Conference at Guething meeting house, Md., May 13.

 

Present: Christian Newcomer, Abraham Draksel, Isaac Nis-

wander, Valentine Baulus, Lorenz Eberhart, Christian Berger,

George Guething, Jacob Dehof, Christian Crum, Joseph Hoffman,

Abraham Meyer, Jacob Baulus, Michael Thomas, Henry Hiestand,

Martin Crider, George A. Guething, Christian Smith, David Snyder,

Abraham Hershey, Jacob Weidner, Henry G. Spayth, John

Crider— 22.

 

Salary for a married preacher fixed at $160.

 

Itinerants: H. Hiestand, H. G. Spayth.

 

Much consideration given to the fraternal correspondence with

the Methodists. Delegates present from the Baltimore and Phila-

delphia conferences of the Methodists. Unanimously resolved that

friendship and love shall be maintained between the two churches.

Fraternal delegates appointed.

 

Church work placed under the care of superintendents or

elders, who were assigned districts and authorized to hold small

conferences on the circuits, whenever necessary.

 

July 30 and October 29 appointed days of fasting, prayer, and

thanksgiving, to be observed throughout the denomination.

 

The following a recorded roll of all the ministers of the

church who up to this date were authorized "to administer all

the ordinances of the house of God." None were ordained. The

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 229

 

authorization had been at some great meeting, or a conference, to

administer the sacraments:

William Otterbein, Christian Newcomer, Christopher Grosh,

John Neidig, Christian Hershey, Isaac Niswander, Peter Kemp,

Martin Boehm, Christian Crum, Abraham Draksel, David Long,

Abraham Meyer, Daniel Troyer. Adam Riegel, George A. Guething,

John Hershey, Ludwig Duckwald, Abraham Hershey. William Am-

brose, George Benedum, Frederick Schaeffer, Joseph Hoffman,

David Snyder, David Gingerich, Christian Smith, Christian Berger.

 

Died: Matthias Kessler, George A. Guething.

 

A. Meyer to assist in holding two great meetings in Virginia.

Spayth to visit Virginia in November.

 

Note: — Guething was secretary of the conference from 1800 to

1812, inclusive. Shortly before his death he finished transcribing

the minutes from loose leaves into a conference book.

 

1813

 

Conference again at Christian Herr's.

Christopher Grosh, chairman; Christian Smith, secretary.

 

Present: Christopher Grosh, Christian Newcomer, John Neidig,

Abraham Meyer, Adam Riegel, Christian Crum, Frederick Schaef-

fer, Jacob Baulus, Valentine Baulus, David Snyder, Christian

Hershey, Abraham Hershey, George Guething, Michael Baer, Henry

G. Spayth. Christian Smith, Henry Hiestand, Joseph Jordan — 18.

 

Licensed to exhort: John Brown, John Geisinger, Charles Has-

sel, George Kolb.

 

An address, signed by Bishop Asbury, received from the Balti-

more Methodist Conference, and Newcomer and Baulus directed to

prepare a reply.

 

Newcomer, Crum, Hoffman, and Baulus appointed a committee

to meet a committee from the Evangelical Association for the pur-

pose of effecting an organic union. This proceeding grew out of

a visit by Newcomer to the Evangelical conference in April, 1813.

He was given a letter to be laid before the United Brethren con-

ference. The committee — Newcomer, Crum, Hoffman, and Baulus,

— met the Evangelical committee at New Berlin, Pa., and con-

ferred several days without coming to any conclusion. The

Albrights (Evangelicals) had been working about 15 years, and

had 15 itinerants and 800 members. Their general conference of

1816 changed the name of the denomination to its present form, and

discussed the proposed union. A committee of six from each

church met at Henry Kumler's in 1817, but failed to come to any

understanding.

 

Christian Newcomer elected bishop for one year.

 


 

230 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Ordered that the Discipline and the Confession of Faith be

printed.

 

Died: William Otterbein, aged 87.

 

1814

 

Conference at Hagerstown, Md., May 24.

C. Newcomer, bishop; J. Baulus, secretary.

 

Present: Christian Newcomer, Abraham Meyer, John Baer,

David Snyder, George Geeting, Thomas Winter, Frederick Schaef-

fer, Christian Crum, Jacob Dehof, Henry C. Spayth, Joseph Hoff-

man, Christopher Grosh, Valentine Baulus, Herman Ow, John

Neidig, John Snyder, Jacob Baulus, Isaac Niswander, Christian

Smith, Christian Berger, Michael Thomas— 21.

 

Licensed to preach: John Rathfang, Joseph Fry, George Kolb,

John Geisinger, Henry Kumler, Jacob Wenger.

 

Authorized to administer the ordinances: Herman Ow, John

Snyder, Henry G. Spayth.

 

Christian Newcomer elected bishop for three years.

 

Christian Hershey elected presiding elder for two years "over

the district in his part of the country."

 

A letter from Otterbein's congregation expressing the wish to

connect itself with the United Brethren and thus to be supplied

with preachers in future.

 

The first Thursday in August designated as a day of fasting

and prayer.

 

Itinerants: John Snyder, Hagerstown circuit; Henry G. Spayth,

Rockingham circuit.

 

1815

 

Conference at Henry Kumler's, Franklin Co., Pa., May 9.

G. Newcomer, bishop; J. Baulus, secretary.

 

Present: Christian Newcomer, David Snyder, Isaac Niswander,

Valentine Baulus, Henry Kumler, Jacob Baulus, Christian Berger.

Jonas Witmer, John Neidig, John Baer, Jacob Dehof, Henry G.

Spayth, Michael Baer, Henry J. Fry, Joseph Hoffman, Abraham

Meyer, John Crider, John Snyder, George Geeting, Henry Hiestand,

Jacob Wenger, Jacob Winter — 22.

 

Licensed to preach: Peter Swartz, Valentine Hiskey, Jonas

Witmer.

 

Licensed to exhort: Daniel Pfeifer, Jacob Flickinger, George

Brown, Samuel Huber, Samuel Brandt.

 

A camp meeting — the first by the United Brethren — ordered at

Rocky Springs, Franklin Co., Pa., August 11.

 

1816

 

Conference at the house of David Long. Cumberland Co., Pa., May 7.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 231

 

C. Newcomer, bishop; J. Baulus, secretary.

 

Licensed to preach: Jacob Flickinger, Samuel Huber, William

Brown.

 

Ordained: Henry Kumler, George Geeting, George Hoffman.

Peter Swartz.

 

Presiding elders (for two years): A. Meyer, J. Hoffman, J.

Baulus.

 

Camp meeting ordered at Middlekoff’s, four miles from Hagers-

town, Md., August 8.

 

Present: Christian Newcomer, John Neidig, David Snyder.

George Geeting, Abraham Hershey, Peter Swartz, Abraham Meyer,

Christian Smith, Henry Kumler, Jacob Dehof, Herman Ow, Jacob

Baulus, John Snyder, Joseph Hoffman, Michael Baer, David Long,

George Hoffman — 17.

 

1817

 

Conference at Guething's meeting house, Md., May 15.

C. Newcomer, bishop: J. Baulus and John Hildt, secretaries.

 

Present: Christian Newcomer, Christian Hershey, John Snyder.

John Crider, Michael Thomas, Jacob Winter, John Baer, Christian

Berger, William Brown, Abraham Meyer, Jacob Baulus. Valentine

Baulus, Jacob Dehof, George Geeting, Conrad Both. Henry Kumler,

John Hildt, David Fleck, John Neidig. Joseph Hoffman, Henry G.

Spayth, Samuel Huber, Isaac Niswander, Jacob Wenger, Jacob

Flickinger, George Brown — 26.

 

Licensed to preach: J. Hildt, Jacob Brazer, William Brown,

D. Fleck.

 

Ordained: J. Crider, V. Baulus.

 

Camp meeting fixed for August 14 at Middlekoff’s, Md.

 

Presiding elders: J. Snyder, H. Kumler.

 

Presiding elders directed to keep an account of the moneys

collected by the traveling preachers, and what was paid out to

them in settlement, report to conference, and see that the settle-

ment is recorded in the minutes.

 

1818

 

Conference at the house of Christian Hershey, Lancaster, Co., Pa., May 5.

C. Newcomer, bishop.

 

Present: Christian Newcomer, Joseph Hoffman, Valentine

Baulus, Samuel Huber, Jacob Lehman, Joseph Jordan, John Snyder.

David Fleck, J. Zentmyer, A. Zeller, Abraham Meyer, William

Brown, Michael Baer, Christian Hershey, John Geisinger, George

Brown, George Kolb, Daniel Pfeifer, Christopher Grosh, Henry

Kumler, Jacob Wenger, Henry G. Spayth, Daniel Gingerich, Arba-

ham Hershey, Conrad Roth, Christian Smith— 26.

 


 

232 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Licensed to exhort: Abraham Horner, John Hussel, Conrad

Weist.

 

Licensed to preach: Daniel Pfeifer.

 

Camp meeting fixed for Middlekoff's for August.

 

Letter from Baltimore stirred up interest in raising funds for

frontier preachers.

 

1819

 

Conference at Valentine Doub's. Frederick Co., Md., May 4.

 

Present: Christian Newcomer, Andrew Zeller, Adam Guething,

Samuel Huber, David Hook, William Brown, John Russell, Abraham

Meyer, Michael Baer, John Hildt, John Neidig, Michael Thomas,

Daniel Pfeifer, John Snyder, John Brown, Conrad Weist, John

Fetterhoff, Jacob Baer, John Brown, John Clopper, John Hoffer — 25.

 

Received: John Brown, Conrad Weist.

 

Licensed to exhort: John Fetterhoff, James Baer, John Brown,

John Clopper, John Hoffer.

 

Letter from W. Line, Register of Cumberland Co., Pa., announc-

ing that David Snyder had bequeathed to the Conference one

thousand dollars, payable one year after the death of his wife.

Letter entered on the minutes.

 

Abraham Myer paid in fifty dollars to be distributed among the

poor itinerant members in Ohio, according to the wishes of the

donor, Elizabeth Snyder, and the money given into the care of

Bro. Zeller.

 

After paying all expenses, the sum of $66.24 in the Conference

treasury was ordered to be distributed among the itinerants in Ohio.

 

Ordained: William Brown, David Fleck, Samuel Huber, James

Wenger.

 

Died: David Snyder, aged 57; Valentine Baulus, aged 56.

 

Camp meetings ordered at Pleasant Valley, Washington Co.,

Md., August 5; Rocky Springs. Pa., August 26; Rockingham Co.,

Va., September 9.

 

Presiding elders: Samuel Huber, Hagerstown Dist.: Abraham

Meyer, Juniata; Jacob Baulus, Virginia; John Neidig. Lancaster.

 

Appointments:

Baltimore: John Snyder.

Hagerstown: Daniel Pfeifer.

Juniata: David Fleck,

Virginia: William Brown and Conrad Weist.

Ohio: John Russell and John Fetterhoff.

 

1820

 

Conference at the house of Conrad Nicodemus. Washington, Co., Md., May 2.

Abraham Meyer, chairman; John Hildt, secretary.

 

Present: Christian Newcomer, Abraham Meyer, Isaac Niswan-

der, John Crider, Michael Thomas, Samuel Huber, David Fleck,

William Brown, John Brown, Conrad Weist, James Baulus. John

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 233

 

Hildt, John Snyder, John Brown, George Brown, Jacob Weidner,

Jacob Dunahoo, George Guething, Daniel Pfeifer, Jacob Adam

Lehman, Jacob Baer, David Baer, Henry Werbe(?), John Hafford,

Christian Hershey, John Clopper, Jacob Dehof — 27.

 

Licensed: John Brown, David Baer, Jacob Dunahoo. Jacob

Baer, for six months.

 

Received from Elizabeth Snyder for the traveling preachers, $25.

 

Ordained: John Hildt, George Brown, David Pfeifer, Henry

Werbe.

 

Camp meeting dates: Rockingham Co., Va., August 3; Pleasant

Valley, Md., August 17; Rock Springs. Pa., August 24.

 

Licensed to exhort: Christian Traub.

 

Presiding elders: George Guething. Va.; Samuel Huber, Hagers-

town; Abraham Meyer, Juniata; John Neidig, Lancaster.

 

Appointments:

Baltimore: John Snyder.

Hagerstown: William Brown and Conrad Weist.

Juniata: John Brown.

Virginia: Daniel Pfeifer and Jacob Dunahoo.

 

"God be praised for the blessings we received on this occasion.

May He grant his blessings on our proceedings."

 

1821

 

Conference at Hagerstown, Md., April 10.

C. Newcomer, bishop; A. Meyer, chairman; J. Hildt, secretary.

 

Present: Christian Newcomer. Jacob Baulus, Abraham Meyer,

John Crider, Samuel Huber. John Snyder, Henry Werbe, William

Brown, Joseph Hoffman, John Brown (Pa.), John Brown (Va.),

Conrad Weist, Daniel Pfeifer. Peter Schwartz, Jacob Dehof, George

Guething, Michael Baer, John Russell, Jacob Flickinger, Jacob

Dunahoo, Christian Burkhardt, John Hafford, Samuel Brant— 23.

 

Presiding elders appointed a committee to select the traveling

preachers.

 

Licensed: John Clopper, John Hafford. Christian Traub and

Henry Burtner licensed for two years on trial.

 

Ordained: John Brown (Va.), John Brown (Pa.).

 

Died: Christian Crumb, Isaac Niswander, Frederick Herr.

 

Received during the year for the support of the itinerancy,

$439.67. Each preacher received $73.21.

 

Itinerants for the year: John Snyder, William Brown, Conrad

Weist, Daniel Pfeifer, Christian Traub, John Brown (Va.), Jacob

Dunahoo, John Brown (Pa.), Henry Burtner.

 

Baulus, Snyder, Hoffman, Meyer, Guething, Traub, Hershey. a

committee to devise a plan to secure funds to support the itinerant

ministers, reported as follows: "Resolved by the ministers of the

Church of the United Brethren in Christ in Conference assembled,

 


 

234 UNITED BRETHREN

 

that there is a real necessity of forming a society and create a

fund from which the poor traveling and worn out and superan-

nuated members shall be supported." Resolved, that for every

circuit agents be appointed there to invite persons to join this

society and to get subscriptions. "Resolved, that this annual con-

ference appoint a committee to draw up a constitution for this

benevolent society and lay it before the next annual conference.

Resolved, that in order to help those that may in need now, a

subscription (be taken) and have it circulated in the conferences.

Resolved, that copies of these resolutions be sent to the general

and the annual conferences of Pennsylvania and Ohio."

 

Resolution unanimously adopted. Hildt and Baulus appointed a

committee to prepare a constitution and submit it to the next ses-

sion of conference. The presiding elders to act as agents.

 

Also agreed to ask from next General Conference to change

the second article in our Discipline as far as it relates to members

of general conferences.

 

Camp meetings: Maryland, August 2; Virginia, August 16;

Pennsylvania, August 30.

 

1822

 

Conference at the house of Joseph Knegi, Cumberland Co., Pa., April 9.

C. Newcomer and J. Hoffman, bishops; J. Hildt, secretary.

 

Present: Abraham Meyer, John Neidig, Abraham Hershey,

Michael Baer, John Brown (Va.), Jacob Wenger, Daniel Pfeifer.

Henry Spayth, Samuel Huber, William Brown, Jacob Dunahoo.

Conrad Weist, Christian Smith, John Hildt, Valentine Hershey.

George Guething, Henry Werbe, David Baer, Christian Traub, John

Hoffard, Henry Burtner, Herman Ow, John Brown (Pa.), George

Benedum, Jacob Brazer, John Snyder, Thomas Kartin(?)— 27.

 

Itinerants: William Brown, Conrad Weist, Daniel Pfeifer, John

Brown (Pa.), John Snyder, John Brown (Va.) Christian Traub,

Henry Burtner, Samuel Huber.

 

Committee on itinerants reported they had secured during the

year for the support of ministers, $620.50, which, divided, gave to

every married preacher, $124.10; to every single preacher, $62.05.

 

A letter prepared in reply to one received from the preacher

and delegates of the Methodist society in New York was ordered

sent.

 

The plan reported by the committee on constitution for bene-

volent society was adopted and the following trustees appointed:

John Brazer, Chambersburg; Valentine Doub, Frederick Co.;

Andreas Newcomer, Washington Co.; John Cronise, Frederick Co.;

Samuel Huber, Rocky Springs; Jacob Wenger, Franklin Co.; George

Martin, Hagerstown.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 235

 

Presiding elders reported $400 subscribed to the benevolent

society, and were authorized to continue their efforts.

 

Licensed to preach: Thomas Hustin, John Reder.

 

Licensed to exhort: James Ewig, Lorenz Esterlein.

 

Ordained: Conrad Weist, David Baer, Valentine Hiskey.

 

Trustees of benevolent society authorized to have society incor-

porated and constitution printed.

 

1823

 

Conference at the residence of John Cronise, Frederick Co., Md., May 6.

C. Newcomer, bishop; G. Guething, chairman; J. Hildt, secretary.

 

Present- Abraham Hershey, Abraham Meyer, Samuel Huber,

Abraham Huber, William Brown, John Brown (Pa.), John Brown

(Va.), Conrad Weist, Jacob Dunahoo, Daniel Pfeifer, Christian

Traub, Henry Burtner, John Hildt, John Crider, Jacob Wenger.

George Guething, John Hafford, Jacob Dehof— 18.

 

Licensed: Gideon Smith, Jacob Erb, John Hafford, Abraham

Huber.

 

Ordained: Christian Traub, Henry Burtner, Philip Ziegler.

 

Died: Henry Werbe, James Brazer.

 

Presiding eiders: John Snider, William Brown, Abraham

Hershey, Abraham Meyer, John Hildt, George Guething, John

Crider.

 

Itinerants for the coming year: William Brown, Conrad Weist,

John Brown, Henry Burtner, Christian Traub, Daniel Pfeifer,

Jacob Erb, Gideon Smith.

 

Received for support of traveling preachers, $727. Paid to

William Brown and John Brown, each, $128.54; to Jacob Dunahoo,

Conrad Weist, Christian Traub, John Brown, Daniel Pfeifer, each,

$64.27; to Samuel Huber, $17.02.

 

Treasurer of benevolent society reported $11.50 in hand, after

paying all expenses, amounting to $9.50. Voted that the $11.50

be sent by C. Newcomer to the brethren of Ohio Conference.

 

1824

 

Conference at Shauman's church. Pleasant Valley, Md., May 4.

C. Newcomer and J. Hoffman, bishops; John Hildt and John G. Pfrimmer, secretaries.

 

Present: Abraham Meyer, George Guething, Samuel Huber, John

Crider, Jacob Dehof, William Brown, Daniel Pfeifer, Conrad Weist,

Henry Burtner, John Hildt, John Hafford, David Fleck, John Brown,

David Baer, John Clopper, John G. Pfrimmer, Jacob Wenger, Gideon

Smith, Jacob Erb, William Abels, John Eckart, Michael Thomas,

Lorenz Esterlein — 23.

 


 

236 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Licensed to preach: Lorenz Esterlein, James Ewig.

 

Licensed to exhort: John Fry, James Debold. John Brubaker

(renewal).

 

Ordained: William Abels.

 

Died: Adam Lehman, aged 90.

 

Itinerants for coming year: William Brown, John Brown, Con-

rad Weist, Henry Burtner, Daniel Pfeifer, William Abels, Gideon

Snell, Jacob Doubs.

 

Money collected for traveling preachers, $618.00. Paid to Wil-

liam Brown, $119; to John Brown, $142.70; to Henry Burtner,

Gideon Smith, and Conrad Weist, each, $71.37; to Daniel Pfeifer,

$59.50; to Jacob Erb, $47.58; to Christian Traub, $35.71.

 

Trustees of benevolent society report in hand, $28.61. Voted

that the part belonging to this conference $9.50 be given to Chris-

tian Traub, who has been very sick a long term and in great need

for help.

 

Resolved that the election of delegates to the next General Con-

ference be held on or before January 1, 1825, and that to every

one elected the earliest personal notice be given.

 

Resolved that Thursday, July 30, be set apart as a day of fasting

and prayer.

 

1825

 

Conference at Petersburg, Adams Co., Pa., May 10.

 

Present: Christian Newcomer, John Hildt, Abraham Meyer,

Abraham Hershey, George Guething, John Brown, Conrad Weist,

Gideon Smith, Jacob Erb, Henry Burtner, Jacob Doub, John Haf-

ford, William Brown, John Crider, David Fleck, Samuel Huber,

Abraham Huber, David Baer, John Snyder, John Neidig, Christian

Smith, Daniel Pfeifer, Valentine Hiskey, John Fry, Lorenz Esterlein,

Jacob Wenger, John Clopper, Christian Traub, William Abels— 29.

 

Committee on complaints, should any be made: C____, Neidig,

Meyer, John Brown, William Brown, Jacob Doub.

 

After all the members present were examined, conference in-

quired into the character of the following absent brethren: W.

Rhinehart, Christian Shopp, John Sewell(?), John Zahn, John

Krack, Jacob Dehof, John Hendricks, James Snyder, Abraham

Hershey.

 

Committee on complaints reported on Samuel Huber, Jacob

Wenger, and Christian Traub, and the report adopted.

 

The cases of those brethren who are on trial were taken up

and a continuance on trial decided upon.

 

Itinerants for coming year: William Brown, John Brown, Con-

rad Weist, Jacob Erb, Jacob Doub, Gideon Smith.

 

Resolved in future to omit "Reverend" in our addresses to

brethren.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 237

 

Licensed to preach: William Rhinehart, John Zahn, John Hend-

ricks, Christian Shopp, John Krack, James Snyder, Abraham

Hershey, John Fry.

 

Licensed to exhort: John Smith, Thomas Oberholtz.

 

The secretaries shall give notice to Bro. Geisinger that they

can do nothing for him.

 

Report on the conduct of John Snyder unanimously adopted.

 

Received on support of traveling preachers during the year,

$741.46.

 

1825 (Second Session)

 

Conference at Chambersburg, Pa., November 17.

C. Newcomer and Henry Kumler, bishops; William Brown and Gideon Smith, secretaries.

 

Present: John Hildt (P. E.), Abraham Meyer (P. E.), William

Brown (P. E.), George Guething (P. E.), Samuel Huber, Valentine

Hiskey, Jacob Erb, Daniel Pfeifer, Gideon Smith, John Hendricks,

John Brown, Jacob Doub, Henry Burtner, Conrad Weist, David

Fleck, John Rider, John Baer, Abraham Huber, John Wenger, Jacob

Wenger, Jacob Debold, Jonah Witcom, Jonah Houk, Jonah Haf-

ford, Simon Drislock, Christian Shopp, Henry Kimmerling, Lorenz

Esterlein, John Fry, John Geisinger, David Baer— 31.

 

Members of other conferences or synods shall have a seat in

this conference but no vote.

 

No complaints preferred.

 

Continued on trial: John Hafford, Abraham Huber, Jonah Houk.

 

Ordained: John Rider, Gideon Smith, Jacob Erb.

 

Itinerants for coming year: William Brown, John Brown,

Gideon Smith. Daniel Pfeifer, Conrad Weist, Simon Drislock, John

Hendricks, Jacob Debold.

 

It shall be the duty of all the preachers to appoint class-meet-

ings at all regular appointments and to urge attendance upon them.

 

Licensed to preach: Daniel Godnatt, Thomas Miller, Henry

Kimmerling, Jonah Houk, Peter Habecker, Ezekiel Boring.

 

Licensed to exhort: Michael Carver, James Newman, James

Sutton.

 

Resolved that December 23 next be set apart as a day of prayer.

 

1826

 

Conference at the residence of Bro. Shopp, Cumberland Co., Pa., April 3.

C. Newcomer and H. Kumler, bishops; Henry Spayth, secretary.

 

Present: Abraham Meyer, John Crider, George Guething, Wil-

liam Brown, John Brown, Christian Smith, Samuel Huber, Jonah

Witcom, David Baer, John Hildt, Henry Spayth, Conrad Weist,

 


 

238 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Abraham Hershey, Jacob Debold, John Geisinger, John Zahn, Valen-

tine Hiskey, Jacob Erb, John Hendricks, John Krack, Christian

Shopp Christian Hershey, Peter Schwartz, Simon Drislock, James

Snyder, Gideon Smith, Daniel Pfeifer, Christian Ludwig, Thomas

Miller, Ezekiel Boring, Joseph Marsh (exhorter), John Neidig,

Michael Carver (exhorter), James Newman (exhorter), Daniel God-

natt, Jonah Houk, Abraham Hershey, Christian Traub, James Rupp,

John Hoffman — 42.

 

Itinerants for coming year: William Brown, John Brown,

Gideon Smith, Conrad Weist, Jacob Debold, John Hendricks, Simon

Drislock, Jacob Erb, Thomas Miller.

 

Presiding elders: John Neidig, Samuel Huber, David Baer.

 

It shall be the duty of every member of this conference to be

present during the annual session, and if necessarily detained, it

shall be his duty to state to conference in a letter the reasons for

his absence.

 

A roll of all the members of this conference shall be kept, their

names called at every session, and their characters inquired into.

 

Received last year for support of the preachers, $771.24. Salary

of married preachers, $160; single preachers, $80.

 

Resolved that John Hildt in the name of this conference shall

give authority to Christian Newcomer, our senior bishop, and sign

the same in our behalf, by which Bro. Newcomer can ask from the

executors of the last will and testament of our deceased sister,

Elizabeth Snyder, the sum of $1,000 given by her to the conferences

of the United Brethren in Christ and give a receipt for it.

 

Licensed: John Hoffman.

 

Voted that Christian Traub be received again among us.

 

August 4 next shall be a day of thanksgiving and prayer in all

the appointments of this conference.

 

1827

 

Conference at the house of Bro. Knegi, Springfield, Cumberland Co., Pa., April 3.

C. Newcomer and H. Kumler, bishops; Jacob Erb, secretary.

 

Present: John Hildt, Christian Hershey, John Crider, Jacob

Lehman, Samuel Huber, David Baer, Simon Drislock, Thomas Mil-

ler, Valentine Hiskey, Jacob Erb, John Brown, Henry Burtner,

David Fleck, John Krack, Lorenz Esterlein, John Fry, James Sutton,

William Brown, John Hendricks, John Neidig, Daniel Pfeifer, Con-

rad Weist, Christian Shopp, Jacob Debold, John Snyder, Peter

Schwartz, James Newcomer, Jacob Wenger, George Guething,

James Snyder, Jonah Houk, Michael Baer — 34.

 

Continued on trial: Christian Shopp, James Snyder, Jacob

Debold, Jonah Houk, John Fry.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 239

 

Ordained: John Hendricks, Simon Drislock. Lorenz Esterlein,

Abraham Hershey, John Zahn, John Krack.

 

Died: Abraham Meyer, October 28, 1820, aged 69.

 

Itinerants for the coming year: John Snyder, George Guething,

William Brown, Thomas Miller, John Hendricks, John Zahn, John

Krack, David Fleck, Conrad Weist, Jacob Erb, James Talton, Chris-

tian Traub, Gideon Smith.

 

Presiding elders: John Snyder, George Guething.

 

Paid in for support of itinerants, $803.16. Married preachers

received $160 each; unmarried ones, $80.

 

William Brown paid over to the conference $300, a part of $1,000

bequeathed by Bro. David Snyder to the conferences of the United

Brethren in Christ.

 

Treasurer of benevolent society reported $49.60 in his hands.

Voted that John Hildt be given $12.40 of this sum to pay off a debt

made by one of our poor traveling preachers, and for which three

of our brethren have gone security.

 

A collection taken for the support of the preachers in the West-

ern states.

 

Licensed to preach: John Eckstein, John Hugel, George Hiskey.

 

Licensed to exhort: John Gilbert, Peter Reick, John Pfeifer.

 

Appointments:

Juniata: David Fleck.

Lancaster: Gideon Smith.

York: John Krack.

Hagerstown: John Zahn and John Eckstein.

Virginia circuit: John Hendricks and Thomas Miller.

Huntingdon: Christian Traub.

New York mission: Jacob Erb.

Baltimore: William Brown.

 

Resolved, that we, the members of this annual conference, do

not approve that any of our preachers or members belong to the

order of Freemasonry and that in future every preacher and every

member who is connected with this order or shall join it shall

lose his membership in our church.

 

1828

 

Conference at the union church belonging to the Brethren and

Reformed congregations in Middletown valley, Washington Co.,

Md., April 1.

C. Newcomer, H. Kumler, bishops; J. Erb, secretary.

 

Present: Jacob Erb, Henry Burtner, William Brown, John

Hendricks, John Hildt, John Snyder, Samuel Huber, David Fleck,

Daniel Pfeifer, John Krack, Simon Drislock, John Zahn, John

Neidig, John Hafford, Thomas Miller, William Rhinehart, James

Sutton, James Winters, James Newman, John Eckstein, Frederick

Gilbert, Jacob Debold, Ezekiel Boring, James Snyder, George

Pallas(?), Abraham Huber, John Clopper— 30.

 

Licensed to preach: Moses Lawson, William Schott, Henry

Huber, George Gilbert, Frederick Gilbert, Joseph Berger, Richard

 


 

240 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Laken, William Kinnear, John Dehof, James Fulton, John Smith,

 

Licensed to exhort: Peter Whitesel, Charles Boehm, George

Gingerich1, James Ewig, Samuel Allenbaugh.

 

Remained on trial: John Hafford, John Clopper, Abraham Huber.

 

Ordained: Thomas Miller, William Rhinehart, George Patterson,

Ezekiel Boring, James Snyder.

 

Died: Christian Ludwig, Philip Ziegler.

 

Conference was divided into the following districts: Virginia, Hagerstown, Carlisle, Huntingdon. Lancaster. From each

district two elders shall be elected delegates to the General

Conference.

 

Collected for support of traveling preachers, $877.80, which,

divided, gives to each married man $138.03, and to each single one,

$69.34.

 

Appointments:

Presiding elders: John Snyder, William Brown.

Lancaster circuit: Ezekiel Boring, Frederick Gilbert.

Baltimore: John Neidig.

Carlisle: William Schott.

York: John Krack.

Huntingdon: John Hendricks.

Hagerstown: John Zahn.

Virginia: Thomas Miller, John Eckstein.

Susquehanna: Jacob Erb.

Lebanon: Simon Drislock.

 

1829

 

Conference at Guething meeting house, Antietam Cr., Washington Co., Md., April 7.

C. Newcomer, H. Kumler, bishops; William Brown, Jacob Erb, secretaries.

 

Present: John Snyder, George Guething, David Baer, John

Neidig, Samuel Huber, Jacob Erb, William Rhinehart, Ezekiel Bor-

ing, John Krack, James Snyder, Henry Burtner, John Hendricks,

Thomas Miller, John Rider, Jacob Dehof, John Zahn, Jacob Wen-

ger, Frederick Gilbert, John Fry, Christian Shopp, David Baer,

John Clopper, John Hoffman, John Eckstein, James Newman, Wil-

liam Schott, James Ewig — 27.

 

Richard Schekels expelled for bad conduct.

 

Licensed to preach: John Dorcas, Peter Herrman, Daniel Sen-

Seny, Christian Crowling, James Ewig, James Newman, Henry

Higgins, Noah Woodyard, William Knott, David Winters.

 

Licensed to exhort: Jacob Haas, Jacob Perry, Martin Haman.

George Guething, John Domer2, Jacob Gerg(?).

 

1The original transcription records this surname as Gilerich.

2The original transcription records this surname as Dummer.


 

CHURCH HISTORY 241

 

Ordained: Christian Shopp, John Clopper, John Hafford, John

Eckstein, John Fry, John Hoffman, William Schott.

 

Itinerants for coming year: John Snyder, William Rhinehart,

William Brown, John Neidig, Ezekiel Boring, John Hendricks,

Frederick Gilbert, Thomas Miller, John Krack, John Dorcas, Wil-

liam Schott, John Eckstein, James Snyder, Noah Woodford, Daniel

Senseny, William Knott, James Ewig, John Zahn.

 

John Snyder, Christian Shopp, William Brown a committee to

examine the accounts of S. Drislock respecting certain collections

made by him and to see that the money is expended according to

description.

 

Samuel Huber and David Baer a committee to meet David Long

and others and exhort them to do better or suffer the consequences.

 

Next conference to be held at the meeting house near Shopp's

Cumberland Co., Pa., beginning third Monday in March, and that

a great meeting be held at the same place the Saturday and Sunday

previous.

 

Almost no charge brought against anyone. Much testimony

given of the work of grace in the hearts of the members. The

experience of Jacob Haas surpassed anything ever brought before

this conference.

 

1830

 

Conference convened at Shopp's meeting house, Cumberland Co., Pa., March 22.

Henry Kumler, bishop; George Guething, chairman; John Eckstein, German secretary; William Rhinehart, English secretary.

 

Present: John Snyder, George Guething, David Baer, William

Rhinehart, William Brown, Peter Schwartz, John Hoffman, Valen-

tine Hiskey, Ezekiel Boring, John Krack, James Snyder, Daniel

Pfeifer, John Hendricks, Thomas Miller, James Newman, John

Zahn, Jacob Erb, Christian Shopp, Simon Drislock, John Eckstein,

George Hiskey, John Domer1, William Schott, John Fry, James

Ewig, David Winters, William Knott, John Dorcas, Charles Boehm,

Moses, Lawson, John Dehof, John Smith, George Gingerich2,

Christian Smith, John Hugel, William Kinnear, David Long, Peter

Wetzel, George Huffman, John Hafford, John Clopper, Abraham

Hershey, James Rupp, John Haney, Peter Harman, Frederick Gil-

bert, Henry Welcher — 49.

 

Addressing seats granted to John Winebrenner and John Rebo(?)

and accepted by them.

 

The names of the following absent members were called and

inquiry made with regard to their character: James Sutton,

Samuel Huber, John Crider, Christian Traub, Abraham Huber,

Thomas Huston, Abraham Herner, Henry Burtner, Herman Ow,

Peter Herman, Abraham Hershey, Jacob Dehof, Jacob Debold,

 

1The original transcription records this surname as Dumer.

2The original transcription records this surname as Liberick.

 


 

242 UNITED BRETHREN

 

David Fleck, William Abels, John Rider, Conrad Weist, George

Pullam— 18.

 

Ordained: John Smith, George Hiskey, Moses Lawson, Fred-

erick Gilbert, John Hazel, John Dehof.

 

Died: Christian Newcomer, Christian Grosh.

 

Licensed to preach: Herman Houk, Jacob Rhinehart, George

Huffman, Henry Young, Charles Boehm, John Potts, John Haney,

Peter Whitesel.

 

Itinerants for the year: John Zahn, Ezekiel Boring, Noah Wood-

yard, John Krack, David Winters, James Newman, John Smith,

Moses Lawson, John Dorcas, William Kinnear, John Haney, Charles

Boehm, James Snyder, Thomas Miller, John Hendricks, William

Schott, Andrew Beard, Daniel Denvie.

 

Jacob Erb and Simon Drislock asked to bring their complaints

before the conference. Nothing being found to justify any action,

the charges were dismissed.

 

Bro. Drislock gave satisfaction in regard to the difficulties of

last year.

 

In future Hagerstown Conference shall have the old protocol

and Bro. Hansby shall procure a new book. Bro. Kumler gave

William Brown two dollars for this purpose. He shall procure a

book and transcribe from the old to the new all proceedings of

importance.

 

1831

 

Conference at Mill Creek, Shenandoah Co., Va., April 27.

Henry Kumler, bishop; W. R. Rhinehart, secretary; George Geeting, chairman.

 

Present: W. R. Rhinehart, Henry Burtner, John Krack, George

Paterson, Jacob Erb, George Geeting, John Zahn, W. Kinnear, Peter

Wetzel, William Miller, Jacob Houk, George Huffman, Noah Wood-

yard, John Haney, Henry Higgins, Jacob Haas, Peter Harman,

William Knott— 18.

 

Absent: Jacob Dehof, John Hafford, John Clopper, Michael

Thomas, Thomas Miller, John Eckstein, Harmon Houk, Lawrence

Sibert, John Hendricks, Conrad Weist — 10.

 

John Ruebush and Jonathan Shenley appointed trustees to build

a house on the Hamilton circuit, furnishing it with all necessary

furniture for the accommodation of a married preacher.

 

The bishop paid in $34.61 — the full sixth part of the money

coming from the benevolent society; also the money from Hide's

estate willed to the conferences of the United Brethren in Christ.

 

Licensed: Jacob Glossbrenner, Jacob Haas, Frederick Hisey,

William Miller.

 

Voted that license be taken away from L. Sibert because of con-

duct unbecoming a minister.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 243

 

Voted that Jacob Bell, exhorter, be expelled.

 

Minutes of the Conference ordered to be published.

 

Motion by W. R. Rhinehart that the vending and distilling of

ardent spirits be entirely expunged from the official body belonging

to the United Brethren in Christ. Carried.

 

Conference agreed that Conrad Weist should quit selling liquor

and preach more than he has done; if not, his license to be de-

manded and he be a member of the church no longer.

 

Voted that the circuit preachers return only the overplus of

the money over and above what the Discipline allows — to be

divided among such preachers as may have failed in getting their

full amount.

 

Ordained: Peter Harman, Noah Woodyard, Henry Higgins, Wil-

liam Kinnear.

 

Appointments:

Hagerstown circuit: Jacob Glossbrenner, W. R. Rhinehart.

Mechanicstown: John Miller, George Geeting.

Staunton and Woodstock circuits: John Zahn, Noah Woodyard,

John Haney, Jacob Houk.

 

Note: — These are the first minutes written in English.

 

1832

 

Conference at Hagerstown, Md., April 25.

Henry Kumler, bishop; W. R. Rhinehart, secretary.

 

Present: W. R. Rhinehart, Henry Burtner, John Zahn, John

Clopper, John Hafford, John Eckstein, Peter Harman, Jacob Day-

hoof, Conrad Weist, Jacob Rhinehart, John Dorcas, William Miller,

Jacob J. Glossbrenner, Noah Woodyard, William Knotts, John

Haney, Henry Nebecker, Charles Boehm, Peter Wetzel — 19.

 

The brethren from Pennsylvania Conference and those belong-

ing to other churches were admitted to addressing seats.

 

Licensed: Joseph M, Hershey, George Rimel.

 

Ordained: John Dorcas, Jacob Rhinehart, John Haney, Wil-

liam Knott, Charles Boehm, Peter Wetzel.

 

Died: Henry Higgins.

 

Absent: George Patterson, Jacob Houk, Harmon Houk, Jacob

Haas, Frederick Hisey, Michael Thomas, George Huffman.

 

Conference divided into two districts, Maryland and Virginia,

each to elect two delegates to represent them in the next General

Conference.

 

Of the money to the conferences of the German United Breth-

ren in Christ it was agreed that Bishop Kumler should give Valen-

 


 

244 UNITED BRETHREN

 

tine Hiskey "as much as seemeth good to him."

 

Voted that an English hymn book be published. W. R. Rhine-

hart and John Zahn a committee to examine the selection before its

publication.

 

On nomination by the bishop, George Patterson was chosen

presiding elder for Virginia, W. R. Rhinehart and Henry Burtner

for the Hagerstown circuit; each of the latter to serve six months.

 

Appointments:

Woodstock circuit: George Patterson, John Haney.

Staunton circuit: J. J. Glossbrenner, J. M. Hershey.

Hagerstown circuit: W. R, Rhinehart, H. Burtner, John Dorcas, Peter Wetzel.

 

1833

 

Conference convened at Pleasant Valley, Washington Co., Md., May 17.

Henry Kumler, bishop; George Geeting, chairman; W. R. Rhinehart, secretary.

 

Present: Henry Burtner, John Dorcas, Peter Weitzel, John

Hafford, John Clopper, John Haney, George Patterson, Peter Har-

man, John Zahn, John Eckstein, George Rimel, Conrad Weist,

Jacob Rhinehart, William Knott, Henry Nebecker, Jacob Gloss-

brenner, Joseph M. Hershey, Harmon Houk, Jacob Houk, George

Huffman, Samuel Allenbaugh.

 

Absent: Michael Thomas, Jacob Dehof, Noah Woodyard,

Frederick Hisey; William Knott came "the last day or eleventh

hour."

 

Admitted to addressing seats: William Brown, Jacob Erb, James

Newman, George Hussey, Samuel Allenbaugh.

 

Ordained: J. J. Glossbrenner, J. Houk, George Huffman.

 

Licensed: W. R. Coursey, George A. Shuey.

 

Presiding elders: William Brown, John Haney.

 

Of the interest on the Snyder donation, voted $15 to be given

the bishop to defray his traveling expenses, the rest $(10.86) to

John Zahn.

 

Appointments:

Hagerstown district: William Brown, P. E.

Hagerstown circuit: John Dorcas, W. R. Coursey.

Staunton district: John Haney, P. E.

Staunton circuit: J. J. Glossbrenner, George Rimel.

Woodstock circuit: P. Wetzel, William Knott.

South Branch circuit: J. M. Hershey.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 245

 

1834

 

Conference at Jennings Branch meeting house Churchville, Va., April 21.

William Brown, bishop; Henry Baulus, chairman: W. R. Coursey, secretary.

 

Present: W. R. Rhinehart, George Geeting, John Dorcas, John

Clopper, Jacob Rhinehart, Samuel Allenbaugh. George Patterson.

John Haney, J. J. Glossbrenner, Jacob Houk. Harmon Houk. Peter

Whitesel, William Knott, George Hoffman. George Shuey, Joseph

M. Hershey, George Rimel, Frederick Hisey, Noah Woodyard — 19.

 

Transferred: Peter Harmon to Pennsylvania Conference.

 

Died: Michael Thomas, Jacob Dehof.

 

George E. Deneale admitted to advisory seat.

 

Licensed: Jacob Baer, Jacob Bachtel, Francis Eckard; David

Jackson was licensed to preach until the next conference by the

presiding elder.

 

Ordained: Harmon Houk, Samuel Allenbaugh.

 

Presiding elders: J. J. Glossbrenner, Virginia district; H. Burt-

ner, Maryland district.

 

The resolution introduced by W. R. Rhinehart for the publica-

tion of a religious newspaper was adopted.

 

Noah Woodyard expelled.

 

Samuel Allenbaugh and G. E. Deneale were each donated $5.

 

To the preachers deficient on their salary, $7.22 donated.

 

Appointments:

Hagerstown circuit: J. Haney, W. R. Coursey.

Frederick circuit: J. Dorcas, J. Bachtel.

Staunton circuit: G. Rimel, S. Allenbaugh.

Woodstock circuit: P. Whitesel, W. Knott.

South Branch: J. M. Hershey, J. Baer.

Winchester mission: G. E. Deneale.

 

1835

 

Conference at Hickle's schoolhouse, Shenandoah Co., Va., March 18.

William Brown, bishop; Henry Burtner, chairman; W. R. Coursey, secretary.

 

Present: George Patterson, Samuel Allenbaugh, Joseph M.

Hershey, George A. Geeting, Jacob Rhinehart, John Haney, William

Knott, Conrad Weist, George B. Rimel, J. J. Glossbrenner, George

E. Deneale, Jacob Eckstein, George A. Shuey, Peter Whitesel, John

 


 

246 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Krack, William R. Coursey, George Huffman, J. Baer, Frederick

Hisey, Francis Eckard, Jacob Bachtel, Jacob C. Houk, John

Haffard— 23.

 

Absent: George Geeting, John Dorcas, John Eckstein, John

Clopper, John Hafford, Conrad Weist — 6.

 

Voted that only the licensed preachers be present at the ex-

aminations into the character of preachers.

 

Ordained: George Rimel, Frederick Hisey, William R. Coursey.

Joseph M. Hershey, George E. Deneale, George A. Shuey.

 

Samuel Funkhouser from the Pennsylvania Conference ad-

mitted to an advisory seat.

 

Licensed: Adam Bovey, Jonathan Tobey, Jacob Minser, David

Jackson, Martin L. Fries, David Spessard.

 

The presiding elder empowered to ask for the license of Conrad

Weist.

 

A charge against Bro. Dorcas referred to Haney, Deneale and

Jacob Rhinehart, who report he should give up his license, or they

be given power to silence him if he refuse to give complete

satisfaction.

 

Voted that John Krack of Pennsylvania Conference be trans-

ferred to the Virginia Conference.

 

The preachers are requested to make an effort to raise money

to help meet the expenses of the new meeting house in Mechanics-

town, Md., after they have met their own demands on a similar

subject.

 

W. Knott to receive $8 of the benevolent fund, J. M. Hershey,

$4.08.

 

Appointments:

Maryland Districts: H. Burtner, P. E.

      Frederick circuit: John Krack, W. R. Coursey.

Hagerstown circuit: G. B. Rimel, J. Baer.

Staunton circuit: Jacob Houk, P. Whitesel.

Woodstock circuit: S. Allenbaugh, J. Tobey.

Winchester: J. Haney, J. Minser.

South Branch: J. Bachtel.

Page mission: G. E. Deneale, M. L. Fries.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 247

 

1836

 

Conference at Geeting meeting house, Md., March 19.

Samuel Hiestand, bishop; W. R. Coursey, secretary.

 

Licensed to preach: Moses Michael.

 

Mission opened in Jackson county on Ohio River.

 

J. J. Glossbrenner, P. E. reported his salary $110.

 

Appointments:

 

Staunton District: J. J. Glossbrenner, P. E.

Staunton circuit, P. Whitesel, D. S. Spessard;

Woodstock circuit, S. Allenbaugh;

South Branch circuit, J. Bachtel;

Winchester circuit, J. C. Houk;

Rockland mission, G. A. Shuey;

Jackson mission, M. Michael.

Maryland District: J. Rhinehart, P. E.

      Hagerstown circuit. G.B. Rimel, M. L. Fries;

Frederick circuit: W. Knott, J. Tobey.

 

1837

 

Conference at Bethel schoolhouse, near the present village of

Chewsville, Md., March 20.

Samuel Hiestand, bishop; G. A. Shuey, secretary.

 

Members: J. J. Glossbrenner, John Clopper, Moses Michael, Wil-

liam Knott, Jacob C. Houck, David S. Spessard, Charles W. Zahn,

Jacob Rhinehart, John Haffard, Adam I. Bovey, George B. Rimel,

Jacob Bachtel, Jonathan Tobey, George A. Geeting, William R.

Coursey, Jacob Baer, Samuel Allenbaugh, George Patterson, Fred-

erick A. Roper — 19.

 

Licensed to preach: F. A. Roper, C. W. Zahn.

 

Ordained: J. Bachtel, J. Baer.

 

Died: P. Whitesel, M. L. Fries.

 

J. Bachtel located on account of ill health on the Frederick and

Hagerstown circuits and to be supported by them.

 

Appointments:

Staunton District: J. J. Glossbrenner, P. E.

Winchester circuit, C. W. Zahn;

Woodstock circuit, J. C. Houck;

Staunton circuit, W. R. Coursey, G. A. Shuey (6 months);

South Branch circuit, S. Allenbaugh;

Pendleton mission, F. A. Roper;

Jackson mission, M. Michael.

Maryland District

Frederick circuit, G. B. Rimel;

Hagerstown circuit, W. Knott.

 

1838

 

Conference at Shiloh church near Christian Shuey's, Augusta Co., Va., March 21.

Samuel Hiestand, bishop; W. R. Coursey, secretary.

 

Present: Jacob Rhinehart, David S. Spessard, George Huffman,

 


 

248 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Charles W. Zahn, Francis Eckard, Jacob Markwood, George B.

Rimel, J. J. Glossbrenner, Adam I. Bovey, W. W. McCabe, William

Edwards, William Knott, Jacob C. Houck, Jacob Bachtel, George

A. Shuey, John Richards — 16.

 

Absent: George A. Geeting, Henry Burtner, Frederick Hisey,

Frederick A. Roper, John Haffard, Jacob Baer, Harmon Houck,

John Clopper, Samuel Allenbaugh, Moses Michael — 10.

 

Licensed to preach: W. Edwards, J. Richards, J. Bachtel.

 

Ordained: A. I. Bovey, P. S. Spessard, W. V. McCabe, F. Eckard.

 

Expelled: F. A. Roper.

 

Presiding elders: W. R. Coursey, J. Bachtel.

 

Appointments:

Hagerstown, W. Knott, J. Markwood;

Frederick, G. B. Rimel;

Winchester, P. S. Spessard;

Staunton. W. V. McCabe, W. Edwards;

Woodstock, J. C. Houck;

South Branch, C. W. Zahn;

Shiloh mission, J. J. Glossbrenner.

 

1839

 

Conference at Jerusalem church, Frederick Co., Md., February 25.

Jacob Erb, bishop; J. J. Glossbrenner, secretary.

 

Present: Jacob Rhinehart, Samuel Allenbaugh, Adam I. Bovey,

William Knott, David S. Spessard, John Clopper, Jacob C. Houck,

William Edwards, George A. Geeting, Jacob Markwood, John

Richards, Jacob Baer, George B. Rimel, William R. Coursey, Charles

W. Zahn, George A. Shuey, John Haffard — 17.

 

Absent: George Patterson, Francis Eckard, Harmon Houck,

George Huffman, Frederick Hisey, Moses Michael, William V. Mc-

Cabe. Jacob Bachtel — 9.

 

Licensed to preach: Samuel Zehrung, Henry Jones, John Rue-

bush, Jr., R. G. H. Levering.

 

Home missionary society organized.

 

Presiding elder: W. R. Coursey, J. Bachtel.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, George Gilbert, G. A. Shuey;

Hagerstown, C. W. Zahn, J. Markwood;

Winchester, P. S. Spessard;

Woodstock, W. Edwards;

Staunton, J. B. Houck;

South Branch, J. Richards;

Shiloh mission, J. J. Glossbrenner;

Pendleton mission, S. Allenbaugh;

Jackson mission, H. Jones.

 

1840

 

Conference at Hickle's schoolhouse, Shenandoah Co., Va., February 3.

Jacob Erb, bishop; J. J. Glossbrenner, secretary.

 

Present: William R. Coursey, Jacob Bachtel, George B. Rimel,

Frederick Hisey, Jacob B. Houck, Charles W. Zahn, Jacob Rhine-

hart, Samuel Zehrung, John Richards, Henry Burtner, Samuel

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 249

 

Allenbaugh, George Gilbert, George A. Shuey, John Ruebush, David

Spessard — 16.

 

Absent: Harmon Houck, Jacob Baer, R. E. H. Levering, Frank-

lin Eckard, Moses Michael, John Clopper, George A. Geeting, Henry

Jones, Adam I. Bovey — 9.

 

Licensed to preach: Benjamin Stickley, John Pope.

 

Ordained: C. W. Zahn.

 

Presiding elders: W. R. Coursey, J. Bachtel.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, J. J. Glossbrenner, G. A. Shuey;

Hagerstown, G. Gilbert, J. Ruebush;

Winchester, C. W. Zahn;

Rockbridge, P. S. Spessard;

Staunton, Jacob B. Houck;

Woodstock, J. Markwood;

Pendleton mission, S. Allenbaugh;

Jackson mission, H. Jones.

 

J. Rhinehart transferred to Pennsylvania Conference.

 

1841

 

Conference at Rocky Springs, Frederick Co., Md., February 22.

No minutes are known to the compiler.

 

1842

 

Conference at Spring Hill, Augusta Co., Va., April 4.

Jacob Erb, bishop; Jacob Markwood, secretary.

 

Present: William R. Coursey, George B. Rimel, George A. Shuey,

Samuel Zehrung, William Knott, Jacob Bachtel. Jacob B. Houck,

Charles W. Zahn, John Pope, David S. Spessard. George Patterson,

John Ruebush, George Hoffman —13.

 

Absent: John Richards, Benjamin Stickley. Moses Michael,

Jonathan Tobey, George Gilbert, John Haffard. Frederick Hisey,

William Edwards, Adam I. Bovey, Samuel Allenbaugh. John Clop-

per, Franklin Eckard, John Haney, Jacob Baer — 14.

 

Licensed to preach: Emanuel Witter, Jacob C. Spitler.

 

Withdrew irregularly: S. Allenbaugh.

 

Silenced: F. Eckard.

 

Ordained: J. Ruebush, S. Zehrung.

 

Died: G. A. Geeting, aged 61.

 

Presiding elders: J. J. Glossbrenner (Md.), J. B. Houck (Va.).

 

Appointments:

Frederick, J. Bachtel, J. Markwood;

Hagerstown, D. S. Spessard;

Winchester, J. Richards;

Staunton, W. R. Coursey, C. W. Zahn;

Woodstock, G. B. Rimel;

South Branch, J. Ruebush;

Pendleton mission, J. Pope.

 

1843

 

Conference at Rohrersville, Md., February 14.

Jacob Erb, bishop; D. S. Spessard, secretary.

 

Present: J. J. Glossbrenner, John Clopper, Benjamin Stickley,

 


 

250 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Joseph S. Grimm, Jonathan Tobey, Jacob Bachtel, John Ruebush,

John Pope, John Richards, Adam I. Bovey, George B. Rimel, Jacob

Baer, Jacob Markwood, Henry Burtner, John Haney — 15.

 

Absent: William R. Coursey, William Knott, George Patterson,

George A. Shuey, Charles W. Zahn, Samuel Zehrung, George Hoff-

man, Frederick Hisey, William Edwards, Jacob C. Spitler. Moses

Michael, D. Funkhouser — 12.

 

Advisory members: John Russell, G. Miller, Jacob Rhinehart.

 

Licensed to preach: James E. Bowersox, John W. Fulkerson,

Andrew J. Coffman, William Lutz.

 

Received from Pennsylvania Conference: J. Russell, David

Engle.

 

Ordained: J. Pope, B. Stickley.

 

Died: J. Huffer, aged 42.

 

Presiding elders: J. Markwood (Md.), J. B. Houck (Va.).

 

Appointments:

Frederick, D. S. Spessard;

Hagerstown, J. Bachtel, J. Richards;

Winchester, J. Tobey;

Rockbridge, J. J. Glossbrenner;

Staunton, J. Baer, J. E. Bowersox;

South Branch, J. Ruebush;

Pendleton mission, J. W. Fulkerson.

 

1844

 

Conference at Jennings Branch (Churchville), Va., February 6.

Jacob Erb, bishop; Jacob Markwood, secretary.

 

Present: Henry Burtner, John Richards, Jacob B. Houck. Jacob

C. Spitler, William R. Coursey, George B. Rimel, Adam I. Bovey,

D. Funkhouser, Jacob Bachtel, Jacob Baer, John Ruebush, Joseph

S. Grimm, William Edwards, George A. Shuey, Benjamin Stickley,

Emanuel Witter, J. J. Glossbrenner, Jacob Markwood, James E.

Bowersox, John Pope, William Knott, George Huffman, Charles

W. Zahn, John W. Fulkerson — 24.

 

Absent: David S. Spessard, John Haney, William Lutz, Jonathan

Tobey, Frederick Hisey, Andrew J. Coffman, John Clopper, Samuel

Zehrung, David Engle — 9.

 

Admitted: John Gibbons, J. W. Miles, John G. Steward, David

O’Farrell, Joseph Funkhouser.

 

Restored to good standing: F. Eckard.

 

Died: G. Patterson.

 

A Book Concern for the Church at the present time was de-

cidedly opposed.

 

Presiding elders: J. Markwood, J. B. Houck.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, P. S. Spessard;

Hagerstown, J. Bachtel, J. Richards;

Winchester, J. Ruebush;

Woodstock, W. R. Coursey;

Staunton, J. J. Glossbrenner, J. Gibbons;

Rockbridge, J. E. Bowersox;

Pendleton mission, B. Stickley;

South Branch, J. W. Fulkerson, J. W. Miles.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 251

 

1845

 

Conference at Jerusalem church, Middletown Valley, Md., February 3.

Jacob Erb, Henry Kumler, bishops; James E. Bowersox. secretary.

 

Present: Henry Burtner, Charles W. Zahn, D. Funkhouser, John

Gibbons, John Haney, Jacob Markwood. William R. Coursey. J. W.

Miles, Jonathan Tobey, Jacob Bachtel, John Richards, Joseph S.

Grimm, Samuel Zehrung. Jacob B. Houck, Adam I. Bovey, Emanuel

Witter, Jacob C. Spitler, John Clopper, William Knott, David S.

Spessard, John W. Fulkerson, Joseph Funkhouser, Jacob J. Gloss-

brenner, John Ruebush, Benjamin Stickley, John G. Steward — 26.

 

Absent: Franklin Eckard, Frederick Hisey, George Huffman,

Andrew J. Coffman, William Edwards, John Pope, Jacob Baer,

George A. Shuey, George B. Rimel, William Lutz — 10.

 

Licensed to preach: Richard Nihiser.

 

Ordained: J. C. Spitler, E. Witter.

 

License demanded of F. Eckard because of disobedience and

neglect of duty.

 

Next General Conference to be petitioned that the boundaries

of this conference be not diminished.

 

Presiding elders: J. Markwood, W. R. Coursey.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, J. Ruebush, J. Gibbons;

Hagerstown, J. Bachtel, R. Nihiser;

Winchester, D. S. Spessard;

Woodstock, J. Richards;

Staunton, J. J. Glossbrenner, J. W. Miles;

Rockbridge, J. E. Bowersox;

Franklin, B. Stickley;

South Branch. J. W. Fulkerson.

 

1846

 

Conference at Otterbein chapel, Mill Creek, Shenandoah Co., Va., February 6.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; J. E. Bowersox, secretary.

 

Present: Henry Burtner, Jacob Markwood, John W. Fulkerson,

William Edwards, Jacob C. Spitler, David S. Spessard, Samuel

Zehrung, Jacob B. Houck, Andrew J. Coffman, William R. Coursey,

John Ruebush, James W. Miles, William Lutz, James E. Bowersox,

Jacob Baer, Jacob Rhinehart, Benjamin Stickley, D. Funkhouser,

George A. Shuey, George B. Rimel, John Pope, Joseph Funkhouser,

Jacob Bachtel, John Gibbons, George Huffman, Frederick Hisey — 26.

 

Absent: Adam I. Bovey. Jonathan Tobey, John Markwood,

Richard Nihiser, John Clopper, David Engle, Emanuel Witter, John

G. Steward, John Haney, Charles W. Zahn, Joseph S. Grimm, Wil-

liam Knott— 13.

 

Received on transfer: Jacob Rhinehart (from Pennsylvania

Conference), John Markwood (Scioto Conference).

 


 

252 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Ordained: J. W. Fulkerson, A. J. Coffman, W. Lutz, J. E. Bower-

sox, J. Gibbons, J. W. Miles.

 

Names of C. W. Zahn, J. Richards dropped from roll, they hav-

ing irregularly withdrawn under charges.

 

H. Burtner re-elected treasurer of the benevolent fund.

 

"Resolved, that this annual conference express by vote, its wish

that the bishop itinerate through his district as much as possible,

and we will do all we can to support him according to Discipline

allowance."

 

Presiding elders: W. R. Coursey, J. Markwood.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, G. B. Rimel;

Hagerstown, J. E. Bowersox;

Winchester, W. Edwards;

Woodstock, J. Bachtel;

Staunton, J. Ruebush, R. Nihiser;

Rockbridge, J. W. Miles;

South Branch, J. Gibbons;

Franklin, W. Knott;

Lewis mission, R. Stickley;

Winchester mission, J. W. Fulkerson.

 

1847

 

Conference at Mount Hebron (Geeting meeting house), Md., February 18.

William Hanby, bishop; Jacob Markwood, secretary.

 

Present: Henry Burtner, James E. Bowersox, George B. Rimel,

Benjamin Stickley, Jacob Rhinehart, John Haney, John W. Fulker-

son, Jacob Markwood, William W. Coursey, John Ruebush, John

Clopper, Adam I. Bovey, William Knott, John G. Steward, Joseph

Funkhouser, William Edwards, Jacob Bachtel, Jacob Baer, Joseph

S. Grimm, Jonathan Tobey, James W. Miles, David S. Spessard,

Emanuel Witter— 23.

 

Absent: George A. Shuey, Jacob R. Houck, Andrew J. Coffman,

Frederick Hisey, George Huffman, D. Funkhouser, John Markwood,

John Pope, Jacob C. Spitler, William Lutz, Samuel Zehrung, David

Engle— 12.

 

David Edwards, editor of the Telescope, present.

 

Ordained: J. Funkhouser, J. G. Stewart, J. S. Grimm.

 

Died: R. Nihiser, J. Gibbons.

 

Presiding elders: J. Markwood, W. R. Coursey.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, G. B. Rimel, J. W. Fulkerson;

Hagerstown, J. E. Bowersox, J. W. Miles;

Winchester, J. R. Formelut(?) — by P. E.;

Woodstock, J. Bachtel; Staunton, J. Ruebush;

Rockbridge, D. S. Spessard;

Franklin, W. Knott;

North Franklin, to be supplied;

South Branch, W. Edwards;

Lewis mission, B. Stickley.

 

1848

 

Conference at Churchville, Va., January 27.

John Russell, bishop; Jacob Markwood, secretary.

 

Present: Henry Burtner, James E. Bowersox, Jacob Baer, George

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 253

 

Huffman, George B. Rimel, John Haney, Samuel Zehrung, Andrew

J. Coffman, William R. Coursey, John Ruebush, John W. Fulker-

son, Jacob Markwood, George A. Shuey, John Pope, Jacob G.

Spitler, Jacob Bachtel, James W. Miles, Benjamin Stickley, Jacob

Rhinehart, William Edwards, Jacob R. Houck, William Knott— 22.

 

Absent: Jonathan Tobey, John G. Steward, David S. Spessard,

Moses Michael, Adam I. Bovey, William Lutz. Frederick Hisey,

Joseph S. Grimm, Joseph Funkhouser, Emanuel Witter, David Engle,

John Markwood — 12.

 

Licensed to preach: George W. Statton. George O. Little.

 

Presiding elders: J. Rhinehart, J. Markwood.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, W. R. Coursey, G. W. Statton;

Hagerstown, J. W. Fulkerson, J. W. Miles;

Winchester, G. O. Little;

Woodstock, J. Bachtel;

Staunton, W. Knott;

Rockbridge, G. B. Rimel;

Franklin, R. Stickley;

South Branch, J. Ruebush;

Lewis Mission, J. Haney;

Jackson Mission, to be supplied.

 

1849

 

Conference at Spessard's schoolhouse (Bethel’s near Hagerstown), Md., January 25.

John Russell, J. J. Glossbrenner, bishops; J. Markwood, secretary.

 

Present: William R. Coursey, Jacob Bachtel, Joseph S. Grimm,

Henry Burtner, Jacob Baer, George A. Shuey, David S. Spessard,

Adam I. Bovey, Jonathan Tobey, Jacob Rhinehart, George B. Rimel,

John Haney, James W. Miles, Benjamin Stickley, George W. Stat-

ton, Jacob Markwood, Emanuel Witter, John Ruebush, John W.

Fulkerson, Andrew J. Coffman, Jacob C. Spitler. Joseph Funk-

houser — 22.

 

Absent: William Knott, Frederick Hisey, John Clopper, Moses

Michael, William Edwards, George Huffman, James E. Bowersox,

John G. Steward, John Pope, Samuel Zehrung, William Lutz, David

Engle, George O. Little, John Markwood— 14.

 

Licensed to preach: Theodore F. Brashear.

 

Visiting ministers: Felmolee, Rathfon, Crider, of Pennsylvania.

 

"Resolved, that each circuit preacher in charge, strictly dis-

charge his whole duty as explained in the constitution of the Home

Missionary Society, on pain of paying out of his own funds at the

next conference the sum which may be thought proper by said

conference."

 

Presiding. elders: J. Markwood (Md.), G. B. Rimel (Va.).

 

Appointments:

Frederick, W. R. Coursey, and one to be supplied;

Hagerstown, J. W. Fulkerson, and one to be supplied;

Winchester, J. W. Miles;

Weaverton Mission, to be supplied by P. E.;

Staunton, J. Bachtel;

Rockbridge, D. S. Spessard;

Woodstock, J. Ruebush;

South Branch, T. F. Brashear;

Franklin, R. Stickley;

Buckhannon, J. Haney;

Jackson, G. W. Statton.

 


 

254 UNITED BRETHREN

 

1850

 

Conference in Mount Hebron, Shenandoah Co., Va., March 7.

Jacob Erb, bishop: J. C. Spitler, secretary.

 

Present: Jacob Erb, Henry Burtner, Jacob Bachtel, George B.

Rimel, Jacob C. Spitler, James W. Miles, John Haney, George W.

Statton, John W. Fulkerson, Joseph Funkhouser, Andrew J. Coff-

man, Jacob J. Glossbrenner, William R. Coursey, Jacob Markwood,

John Ruebush, David S. Spessard, Jacob Rhinehart, Adam I. Bovey,

Theodore F. Brashear; Benjamin Stickley, Frederick Hisey, Wil-

liam Lutz — 23.

 

Absent: Joseph S. Grimm, George A. Shuey, John G. Steward,

William Edwards, John Clopper, John Pope, Daniel Engel, George

Huffman, Jonathan Tobey, Emanuel Witter, Jacob Baer, James

E. Bowersox, John Markwood, William Knott, Moses Michael,

 

George O. Little— 16.

 

H. B. Winton received from Sandusky Conference.

 

Licentiates: Isaac Statton, Abel Randall, John Perry.

 

A proposition from the Alleghany Conference to cooperate in

building a school at Mount Pleasant, Pa., was voted down, but

there was a declaration in favor of a school in its own boundary

the present year.

 

Members, 2,816, an increase of 594; 108 Telescopes; paid to

two presiding elders, $441.68; paid by the 11 charges as salaries of

pastors, $1,935.28.

 

Two charges have preaching every 3 weeks, seven charges

every 4 weeks.

 

1851

 

Conference at Bethlehem church, Augusta Co., Va., March 7.

Jacob Erb, bishop; J. C. Spitler, secretary.

 

Present: Jacob Erb, Henry Burtner, George B. Rimel, Jacob

Markwood, David S. Spessard, John Haney, John Ruebush, George

W. Statton, George A. Shuey, Jacob J. Glossbrenner, James W.

Miles, George Huffman, Andrew J. Coffman, H. B. Winton, James

E. Bowersox, Joseph Funkhouser, Theodore F. Brashear. Isaac

Statton, John W. Fulkerson, Jacob Baer, Jacob Rhinehart, John

Perry, Benjamin Stickley, William Knott, Jacob C. Spitler— 26.

 

Absent: William R. Coursey, Joseph S. Grimm, John G. Steward

John Pope, Jonathan Tobey, Moses Michael, Frederick Hisey, Abel

Randall, Emanuel Witter, William Edwards, John Clopper, Daniel

Engel, John Markwood, Jacob B. Houck, Adam I. Bovey, William

 

Lutz— 16.

 

Licentiates: William T. Lower, L. W. Mathews.

 

Virginia District divided into eastern and western sections, the

former containing Woodstock and Staunton circuits and Highland

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 255

 

mission, and the latter, South Branch, Franklin, Buchanan, and

Jackson circuits.

 

A mission projected in Nicholas.

 

The bishop received $62.98.

 

Directed that the Conference book containing the minutes from

1837 to 1850, together with other documents, be given into the

care of Henry Burtner, who is not to permit any person to take

the book from his house without an order from Conference signed

by the presiding bishop and countersigned by the secretary.

 

Presiding elders: J. Markwood (Md.), J. Bachtel (E. Va.), J.

W. Miles (W. Va.).

 

Appointments:

Hagerstown, W. R. Coursey, J. Perry;

Frederick, G. W. Statton, L. W. Mathews;

Winchester, J. Haney, I. Statton;

Weaverton mission, to be supplied by P. E.;

Rockbridge, H. B. Winton;

Staunton, D. S. Spessard;

Woodstock, J. Ruebush;

Highland mission, J. W. Fulkerson;

South Branch, B. Stickley;

Franklin, G. B. Rimel;

Buchanan, T. F. Brashear;

Jackson, W. T. Lower;

Wood county mission, to be supplied by P. E.

 

Members, 2,956; Telescope, 218; Sunday Schools, 21; missions,

$112; salaries of presiding elders — Markwood, $264 Miles, $147.

 

1852

 

Conference at Rohrersville, Md., February 27.

Jacob Erb, bishop; Jacob Markwood, secretary.

 

Present: Jacob J. Glossbrenner, Henry Burtner, William R.

Coursey, Jacob Bachtel, John Ruebush, James W. Miles, Theodore

F. Brashear, Jacob Rhinehart, David S. Spessard, William T.

Lower, John Perry, Jacob Erb, Adam I. Bovey, Jacob B. Houck,

Jacob Markwood, Jonathan Tobey, Benjamin Stickley, John Haney,

H. B. Winton, Joseph S. Grimm, L. W. Mathews, Emanuel Witter— 22.

 

Absent: George B. Rimel, William Knott, John Clopper, James

E. Bowersox, John W. Fulkerson, Moses Michael, Jacob Markwood,

Jacob Baer, George A. Shuey, Frederick Hisey, George W. Statton,

George Huffman, John G. Steward, John Pope, Abel Randall, Wil-

liam Lutz, Jacob C. Spitler, Andrew J. Coffman, Joseph Funkhouser,

Daniel Engel— 20.

 

"No deaths, no ordinations, no transfers, no suspensions, no

expulsions."

 

Resolutions of loyalty to the church law on slavery were passed,

the institution being denounced as criminal.

 

J. B. Resler, agent from Mount Pleasant College.

 

J. Markwood, J. Bachtel, E. Witter, S. Deaner, S. Rohrer, W.

Shuey appointed trustees to cooperate with Alleghany Conference

in establishing Mount Pleasant College.

 


 

256 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Presiding elders: J. Markwood (Md.) J. Bachtel (E. Va.), J. W.

Miles (W. Va.).

 

Appointments:

Frederick, G. W. Statton, W. T. Lower;

Hagerstown, H. B. Winton, D. S. Spessard;

Winchester, L. W. Mathews, I. K. Statton;

Woodstock, W. R. Coursey;

Staunton, J. Ruebush;

Rockbridge, J. W. Fulkerson;

Highland mission, T. F. Brashear;

Franklin, G. B. Rimel;

South Branch, J. Haney;

Buchannon, B. Stickley;

Jackson, J. Perry;

Wood mission, E. McGlaughlin.

 

1853

 

Conference at Mount Hebron, Hardy Co., Va.

J. Erb. J. J. Glossbrenner, bishops; J. Markwood, secretary.

 

Present: William R. Coursey, Henry Burtner, Jacob Bachtel,

Jacob Markwood, George B. Rimel, John Ruebush, James W. Miles,

Benjamin Stickley, W. B. Winton, Joseph Funkhouser, Moses

Michael, John Perry, John Pope, Abel Randall, John G. Steward,

George W. Statton, Isaac Statton, W. T. Lower, L. W. Mathews — 19.

 

Absent: Jonathan Tobey, Jacob Rhinehart, Emanuel Witter,

Frederick Hisey, William Knott, Jacob C. Spitler, Jacob Baer, John

Markwood, E. McGlaughlin, Adam I. Bovey, Jacob B. Houck, Joseph

S. Grimm, William Lutz, George Huffman, George A. Shuey, James

E. Bowersox, Daniel Engel, David S. Spessard — 18.

 

Advisory member: J. B. Resler.

 

Presiding elders made agents of Mount Pleasant College and

directed to secure subscriptions and scholarships.

 

Next General Conference to be asked "to obtain a board of

trustees for our printing establishment, now at Circleville, O.,

selected out of several conferences."

 

Licentiates: J. F. Statton, Levi Hess, John Phillips.

 

William Edwards transferred to Iowa Conference.

 

Ordained: M. Michael, I. K. Statton, W. T. Lower, L. W.

Mathews, J. Perry, A. Randall.

 

Sunday addresses in German and English by Bishops Erb and

Glossbrenner.

 

Presiding elders: J. Markwood, W. T. Lower, J. Ruebush.

 

Changes in name: Staunton circuit to Rockingham; Rockbridge

to Churchville; Winchester divided, the northern part being called

Bath circuit.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, J. Bachtel, I. K. Statton;

Hagerstown, H. B. Winton, J. Perry;

Winchester, G. W. Statton;

Bath, L. W. Mathews;

Woodstock, W. R. Coursey, A. Graham;

Rockingham, T. F. Brashear;

Churchville, J. W. Fulkerson;

Highland, J. Haney;

Franklin, J. W. Miles;

South Branch, G. B. Rimel;

Buckhannon,

B. Stickley;

Jackson, I. K. Statton;

Wood mission, J. Phillips;

West Columbia, _____.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 257

 

1854

 

Conference at New Jerusalem church, Edinburg, Va., February 9.

Moses Michael, secretary.

 

Advisory members: J. C. Bright, H. Kumler, Jr.

 

Hagerstown circuit made a station; Woodstock and Rocking-

ham thus divided into three circuits — all north of Mill Creek to

constitute Woodstock circuit, all north of Dayton and Whitesel's

to constitute Lacey Spring circuit, the remainder to be called

Rockingham.

 

Buckhannon divided into two circuits, and a mission opened in

Nicholas county.

 

South River mission organized, and to include the Forge and

Mowery's schoolhouse.

 

Licentiates: Henry Tallhelm, Samuel Martin.

 

Note:— These minutes unsigned and evidently incomplete.

 

1855

 

Conference at Myersville, Md., January 29.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; M. Michael, secretary.

 

Present: Jacob Bachtel, John Ruebush, Benjamin Stickley, Theo-

dore F. Brashear, W. T. Lower, J. Haney, George W. Statton, John

W. Perry, Henry Tallhelm, Jonathan Tobey, James W. Miles, Jacob

B. Houck, Jacob Markwood, John W. Fulkerson, H. B. Winton,

George B. Rimel, L. W. Mathews, Isaac K. Statton, John Phillips,

Levi Hess, Joseph S. Grimm, Samuel Martin — 22.

 

Absent: George A. Shuey, James E. Bowersox, John Pope, Daniel

Engel, J. F. Statton, Henry Burtner, Emanuel Witter, Abel Randall,

Jacob C. Spitler — 9.

 

Visiting minister: John Dickson of Pennsylvania.

 

Licentiates: William M. H. Cain, J. P. White, Zebedee Warner,

Isaiah Baltzell, Benjamin Denton.

 

John F. Statton transferred to any Western Conference.

 

Died: J. Rhinehart, J. Baer.

 

Ordained: L. Hess, J. Phillips.

 

Resolution adopted favorable to Mount Pleasant College.

 

J. Markwood appointed to solicit within the conference bounds

subscriptions to erect a church at Frederick, Md.

 

Hartford City made a station.

 

Parkersburg mission projected.

 

Resolutions in favor of missionary work, as were passed in

previous sessions.

 

Conference book transferred from Henry Burtner to Jacob

Bachtel. J. C. Spitler and W. R. Coursey a committee to examine it.

 

Presiding elders: J. Bachtel, G. W. Statton, W. R. Coursey.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, W. T. Lower;

Myersville, T. F. Brashear

 


 

258 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Hagerstown, J. W. Miles, A. Y. Graham;

Winchester, L. Hess; Bath, H. Tallhelm;

Churchville, I. K. Station;

Rockingham, G. B. Rimel;

Lacey Spring, J. Ruebush;

Woodstock, J. Haney;

South Branch, L. W. Mathews;

Franklin, B. Stickley;

Highland, J. Phillips;

Waynesboro mission, J. B. Houck;

West Columbia station, Z. Warner;

Hartford, W. M. Cain;

Mason, M. Michael;

Glenville, Samuel Martin;

Buckhannon, I. Baltzell;

Middle Island, to be supplied.

 

1856

 

Conference at Otterbein Chapel, Shenandoah Co., Va., March 15.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; J. Markwood, secretary.

 

Present: John Haney, Levi Hess, James W. Miles, John Phillips,

Abel Randall, Henry Tallhelm, William Lutz, Joseph Funkhouser,

Isaiah Baltzell, Zebedee Warner, Jacob B. Houck, George Huffman,

John Pope, William R. Coursey, George B. Rimel, Frederick Hisey,

Jacob Bachtel, Jacob Markwood, Benjamin Stickley, John Ruebush,

H. B. Winton, W. T. Lower, Theodore F. Brashear, L. W. Mathews,

George W. Statton— 25.

 

Absent: Henry Burtner, George A. Shuey, John W. Fulkerson,

W. M. K. Cain, Isaac K. Station, Jonathan Tobey, Emanuel Witter,

William Knott, John W. Perry, James E. Bowersox, Moses Michael,

J. White, Joseph S. Grimm, Adam I. Bovey, Samuel Martin, Daniel

Engel— 16.

 

J. W. Fulkerson transferred to Iowa Conference.

 

Died: J. C. Spitler, Benjamin Denton.

 

Licentiates: C. B. Hammack, G. W. Albaugh, Jacob A. Bovey,

Eli Martin (Baptist), H. R. Davis, William Yerkey, William James.

 

Ordained: H. Tallhelm, I. Bachtel, Z. Warner.

 

Presiding elders: J. Bachtel (Md.), J. Markwood (E. Va.), M.

Michael (W. Va.).

 

Appointments:

Frederick, W. T. Lower;

Myersville, I. K. Statton;

Hagerstown, W. R. Coursey, C. B. Hammack;

Otterbein mission, H. B. Winton;

Bath, J. Haney;

Woodstock, L. W. Mathews, H. Tallhelm;

Lacey Spring, T. F. Brashear;

Rockingham, G. B. Rimel;

Churchville. G. W. Statton, I. Baltzell;

Highland, J. A. Bovey (by P. E.);

Franklin, B. Stickley;

South Branch, J. Phillips;

Brock's Gap mission, J. Pope;

Tennessee mission, J. Ruebush;

West Columbia station, Eli Martin;

Union station, W. M. K. Cain;

Putnam, H. R. Davis;

Middle Island, L. Hess;

Glenville, W. Yerkey;

Lewis, S. Martin;

Taylor, J. P. White;

California mission, W. Miles.

 

1857

 

Conference at Mount Hebron church, Washington Co., Md., March 5.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; J. Markwood, secretary.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 259

 

Present: William R. Coursey, Adam I. Bovey, John Haney,

Benjamin Stickley, George B. Rimel, Jonathan Tobey, Jacob Bach-

tel, John Ruebush, George W. Statton, L. W. Mathews, H. B. Win-

ton, Theodore F. Brashear, W. T. Lower, Joseph Funkhouser,

George A. Shuey, Isaac K. Statton, Joseph S. Grimm, John W. Perry,

Isaiah Baltzell, Henry Tallhelm, C. B. Hammack, John Phillips,

J. P. White, Jacob A. Bovey, James W. Miles, G. W. Albaugh,

Zebedee Warner, Levi Hess — 28.

 

Absent: Frederick Hisey, Jacob B. Houck, George Hoffman,

Emanuel Witter, Abel Randall, Samuel Martin, E. Martin, Daniel

Engel, William Lutz, Moses Michael, John Pope, W. Yerkey,

H. R. Davis — 13.

 

Licentiates: J. D. Freed, J. W. Nihiser, J. F. Hott.

 

Transferred: W. M. K. Cain, M. Michael.

 

D. H. Keedy received from Alleghany Conference.

 

Benevolent Fund, $940.85.

 

Presiding elders: W. R. Coursey (Md.), J. Markwood (E. Va.),

B. Stickley (W. Va.).

 

Appointments:

Frederick and Myersville, I. K. Statton, J. Bovey;

Hagerstown, L. W. Mathews, D. H. Keedy;

Hagerstown station, W. T. Lower;

Winchester, I. Baltzell;

Otterbein station, J. Tobey;

Alleghany mission, J. Phillips;

Woodstock, H. Burtner;

Lacey Spring, H. Tallhelm;

Rockingham, T. E. Brashear;

Churchville, G. W. Statton, C. B. Hammack;

Highland, J. W. Howe (by P. E.);

Franklin, J. D. Freed;

South Branch, G. B. Rimel;

Blue Red mission, to be supplied;

Taylor, Z. Warner;

Lewis, J. W. Miles;

Glenville, J. W. Nihiser;

Putnam, J. W. Young (by P. E.);

Middle Island, J. P. White;

West Columbia, J. Bachtel;

California mission, W. Miles;

Parkersburg mission, W. James.

 

1858

 

Conference at Mount Tabor church, Va., February 25.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; J. Markwood, H. B. Winton, secretaries.

 

Present: William R. Coursey, Isaac K. Statton, George W. Stat-

ton, Theodore F. Brashear, W. T. Lower, Isaiah Baltzell, L. W.

Mathews, John Ruebush, Jacob A. Bovey, Frederick Hisey, George

B. Rimel, Joseph Funkhouser, William Lutz, Joseph S. Grimm, Jacob

F Hott, George Hoffman, Abel Randall, John Pope, Benjamin

Stickley, Jacob B. Houck, H. B. Winton, J. W. Nihiser, J. D. Freed,

G. W. Albaugh — 24.

 

Absent: Adam I. Bovey, George A. Shuey, Jonathan Tobey,

D. D. Keedy, C. B. Hammack, James E. Bowersox, Henry Tallhelm,

John Phillips — 8.

 

The name of J. Phillips dropped from roll, he having joined

another conference.

 


 

260 UNITED BRETHREN

 

J. E. Bowersox transferred to Iowa Conference.

 

Licentiates: George W. Rexrode, Jacob Rodruck, John W. Howe,

Joseph Holcomb.

 

Endorsement of N. Altman's attempt to build an English-speak-

ing church in Baltimore and promise of financial help.

 

The union of Otterbein University and Mount Pleasant College

approved; trustees thereof: J. J. Glossbrenner (3 years), J. Mark-

wood (2 years), H. B. Winton (1 year).

 

Ordained: J. A. Bovey, J. W. Nihiser.

 

Appropriated for Tennessee mission, $100; for Hagerstown mis-

sion, $150.

 

Appointments:

Hagerstown mission station, L. W. Mathews, I. Baltzell;

Frederick, I. K. Station, S. Evers;

Otterbein station, D. H. Keedy;

Winchester, C. B. Hammack;

Woodstock, H. B. Winton;

Lacey Spring, J. A. Bovey;

Rockingham, T. F. Brashear, H. Tallhelm;

Churchville, G. W. Statton;

Franklin, J. D. Freed;

Union, J. W. Nihiser;

Brock's Gap, J. K. Nelson (by P. E.);

Claysville mission, B. Stickley;

Rockbridge mission, J. W. Howe;

Highland mission, J. Holcomb;

Tennessee, J. Ruebush.

 

1859

 

Conference at Rohrersville, Md., February 26.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; J. Markwood, H. B. Winton, secretaries.

 

Present: William R. Coursey, H. B. Winton, L. W. Mathews,

Isaac K. Statton, Jacob A. Bovey, George B. Rimel, Benjamin Stick-

ley, Theodore F. Brashear, W. T. Lower, Joseph Holcomb, Joseph

Funkhouser, Henry Tallhelm, Jonathan Tobey, Joseph S. Grimm,

J. W. Nihiser, G. W. Albaugh, C. B. Hammack, Isaiah Baltzell, D. D.

Keedy, Jacob F. Hott, John W. Howe — 21.

 

Absent: George W. Statton, George Huffman, Frederick Hisey,

Abel Randall, J. D. Freed, George W. Rexrode, George W. Shuey,

William Lutz, John Ruebush, Adam I. Bovey, John Pope, Jacob

Rodruck — 12.

 

Dr. F. S. McNeil received from Miami Conference.

 

A. Randall transferred to Iowa Conference; I. Baltzell to Pennsyl-

vania Conference.

 

J. B. Houck withdrew to join the Methodist Episcopal Church,

South; died as a preacher therein about 1884.

 

Ordained: C. B. Hammack, D. D. Keedy, J. F. Hott, G. W. Albaugh.

 

Presiding elders: H. B. Winton (Md.), J. Markwood (Va.).

Appointments:

Hagerstown station, W. T. Lower;

Hagerstown circuit, I. K. Statton, J. Delpha;

Frederick, L. W. Mathews, W. A

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY  261

 

 

Jackson;

Winchester, C. B. Hammack;

Woodstock, J. A. Bovey;

Lacey Spring, H. Tallhelm;

Rockingham, G. W. Statton;

Churchville, T. F. Brashear, S. Evers;

Highland, J. W. Howe;

Franklin, J. D. Freed;

Claysville mission, B. Stickley.

 

1860

 

Conference at Churchville, Va., February 23.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; J. Markwood, secretary.

 

Present: William R. Coursey, John Ruebush, George B. Rimel,

George W. Statton, Theodore F. Brashear, Henry Tallhelm, John

W. Howe, S. Evers, G. W. Albaugh, George W. Rexrode, Benjamin

Stickley, George A. Shuey, George Hoffman, H. B. Winton, W. T.

Lower, Joseph Funkhouser, C. B. Hammack, J. D. Freed, J. W,

Nihiser, Joseph Holcomb — 22.

 

Absent: L. W. Mathews, Joseph S. Grimm, William Lutz. John

Pope, J. Delpha, J. Hensley, Adam I. Bovey, Frederick Hisey.

Jonathan Tobey, Jacob F. Hott, Jacob Rodruck — 10.

 

J. Hensley transferred to Parkersburg Conference.

 

I. Baltzell returned his transfer to Pennsylvania Conference.

 

Died: J. A. Bovey.

 

Licentiate: W. A. Jackson.

 

Ordained: J. W. Howe.

 

Benevolent Fund, $436.21.

 

Presiding elders: H. B. Winton (Md.), J. Markwood (Va.).

 

Appointments:

Frederick, L. W. Mathews, T. Bushong;

Hagerstown, I. K. Statton, W. A. Jackson;

Hagerstown, W. T. Lower;

Winchester, J. D. Freed;

Woodstock, C. B. Hammack;

Lacey Spring, H. Tallhelm;

Rockingham, G. W. Statton;

Churchville, T. F. Brashear;

Highland and Franklin, J. W. Howe, C. T. Stearn;

Claysville mission, B. Stickley;

Augusta, G. W. Rexrode.

 

Missionary appropriations: $290.

 

1861

 

Conference at Hagerstown, Md., January 24.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; J. Markwood, L. W. Mathews, secretaries.

 

Present: William R. Coursey, Theodore F. Brashear, Isaiah

Baltzell, Jonathan Tobey, W. A. Jackson, G. W. Albaugh, H. B.

Winton, Isaac K. Statton, Joseph S. Grimm, D. D. Keedy, F. S. McNeil,

George W. Statton, Henry Tallhelm, J. W. Nihiser, Jacob F. Hott,

Joseph Holcomb, Benjamin Stickley, W. T. Lower, C. B. Hammack,

John W. Howe, J. D. Freed, Joseph Funkhouser — 22.

 

Absent: Adam I. Bovey, John Ruebush, George W. Rexrode.

George B. Rimel, William Lutz, John Pope, George A. Shuey, E.

Evers, Frederick Hisey, George Huffman, J. Delpha — 11.

 


 

262 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Licentiates: T. Bushong, J. Harp.

 

Ordained: J. M. Rodruck.

 

In treasury, $443.71. Ordered paid the widow of J. A. Bovey, $100.

 

Presiding elder: J. Markwood.

 

Appointments:

Hagerstown, G. W. Statton;

Hagerstown circuit,

W. R. Coursey, W. T. Lower;

Frederick, I. Baltzell, T. Bushong;

Woodstock, T. F. Brashear;

Lacey Spring, L. W. Mathews (resigned — supply by J. W. Howe);

Rockingham, H. Tallhelm;

Churchville, C. B. Hammack;

Highland, A. I. Bovey;

Franklin, J. W. Howe (resigned — supplied by A. M. Myers);

Claysville, J. W. Nihiser;

Augusta, W. A. Jackson, A. M. Evers;

Alleghany mission, J. M. Rodruck.

 

 

1862

Northern Section

 

Conference met at Mount Carmel church, Washington Co., Md., February 2.

J. Markwood, bishop; D. D. Keedy, secretary.

 

Present: William R. Coursey, George W. Statton, Jonathan

Tobey, J. Harp, H. B. Winton, T. S. McNeil, W. T. Lower, Isaiah

Baltzell, Jacob S. Grimm, G. W. Albaugh, W. A. Jackson, T.

Bushong — 12.

 

Absent: Isaac K. Statton, J. Delpha, L. W. Mathews— 3.

 

Transfers given to H. B. Winton, Isaiah Baltzell, Isaac K. Statton.

 

Three charges, 17 meeting houses, 100 Telescopes, 957 members;

salaries and presents to preachers, $2,240.

 

Presiding elder: W. R. Coursey.

 

Appointments: Frederick, W. T. Lower;

Hagerstown circuit, W. R. Coursey, T. Bushong;

Hagerstown station, G. W. Statton.

 

1862

Southern Section

 

Conference at Edinburg, Va., February 14.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; C. B. Hammack, secretary.

 

Licentiates: H. A. Bovey, J. W. Hott, J. K. Nelson, C. T. Steam,

A. M. Evers, J. M. Canter.

 

Ordained: G. W. Rexrode, J. D. Freed, J. Holcomb.

 

Presiding elder: T. F. Brashear.

 

Appointments:

Churchville, C. B. Hammack;

Augusta, G. W. Rexrode;

Lacey Spring, J. W. Howe, G. H. Snapp;

Woodstock, G. B. Rimel;

South Branch, J. D. Freed;

Winchester, J. K. Nelson;

Franklin, H. A. Bovey;

Highland, C. T. Stearn;

Alleghany, J. M. Rodruck;

Rockbridge, A. M. Evers;

Rockingham, H. Tallhelm.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 263

 

1863

Northern Section

 

Conference at Georgetown, Frederick Co., Md., February 20.

J. Markwood, bishop; D. D. Keedy, secretary.

 

Present: William R. Coursey, George W. Statton, G. W. Al-

baugh, J. Harp, J. D. Freed, J. W. Nihiser, W. T. Lower Jonathan

Tobey, T. S. McNeil, T. Bushong, J. M. Rodruck, J. W. Hott, J.

Delpha — 14.

 

Absent: L. W. Mathews, Benjamin Stickley, Jacob V. Hott, W.

A. Jackson, C. T. Stearn, J. K. Nelson — 6.

 

Licentiate: J. W. Grimm.

 

Ordained: T. F. Bushong.

 

W A Jackson transferred to Pennsylvania Conference; L. W.

Mathews, B. Stickley, C. T. Stearn given open transfers to any

Western conference.

 

Presiding elder: J. Tobey.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, W. T. Lower, J. W. Grimm;

Hagerstown, G. W. Statton and one to be supplied;

Hagerstown mission, H. B. Winton;

Winchester, J. K. Nelson, J. W. Hott;

South Branch, J. D. Freed;

Alleghany, J. M. Rodruck.

 

1863

Southern Section

 

Conference at Keezletown, Va., February 27.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; C. B. Hammack, secretary.

 

Licentiate: J. W. Kiracofe.

 

Ordained: A. M. Evers.

 

Appropriation of $100 for Benevolent Fund to Mrs. J. A. Bovey.

 

1864

Northern Section

 

Conference at Boonsboro, Md., February 19.

J. J. Glossbrenner, J. Markwood, bishops; D. D. Keedy secretary.

 

Present: Jonathan Tobey, George W. Statton, T.S McNeil,

D. D. Keedy T. Bushing, J. Harp, James W. Hott, William R.

Coursey, W. T. Lower, J. D. Freed, J. M. Rodruck, G. W. Albaugh,

Jacob S. Grimm, J. K. Nelson, Jacob F. Hott, J. W. Grimm – 16,

 

Absent: J. W. Nihiser, J. Delpha, Adam I. Bovey — 3.

 

The widow Bovey granted $72.

 

Ordained: J. K. Nelson, J. W. Hott, J. Harp.

 

An increase of 272 members.

 

Appointments: J. Tobey, P. E.;

Hagerstown, G. W. Statton, J. D. Freed;

Hagerstown station, C. T. Stearn;

Frederick, W. T. Lower, J. W. Grimm;

Winchester, J. K. Nelson, J. W. Hott;

Alleghany, J. M. Rodruck.

 


 

264 UNITED BRETHREN

 

1864

Southern Section

 

Conference at Friedens church, Rockingham Co., Va., March 11.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; C. B. Hammack, secretary.

 

Bishop Glossbrenner to act as P. E.

 

Ordained: H. A. Bovey, J. M. Canter, J. W. Kiracofe.

 

Licentiates: W. J. Miller, G. H. Snapp.

 

A prominent feature was the experience meeting Sunday morning the 13th.

 

Appointments:

Lacey Spring, C. B. Hammack, A. M. Evers;

Rockingham, J. W. Howe;

Churchville, H. A. Bovey;

Woodstock, H. Tallhelm;

Highland, J. W. Kiracofe, J. J. Potter (?);

Augusta, G. W. Rexrode.

 

1865

Northern Section

 

Conference at Myersville, Md., February 17.

J. Markwood, H. Kumler, bishops; D. D. Keedy secretary.

 

Present: William R. Coursey, Adam I. Bovey, W. T. Lower,

J. M. Rodruck, Jacob S. Grimm, J. K. Nelson, James W. Hott, Jona-

than Tobey, George W. Statton, J. D. Freed, J. W. Grimm, J. Harp,

Jacob F. Hott, T. S. McNeil, G. W. Albaugh — 15.

 

Absent: J. Nihiser, J. Delpha — 2.

 

C. T. Stearn received from Rock River Conference.

 

Licentiates: W. O. Grimm, P. H. Thomas.

 

Ordained: W. O. Grimm(?), P. H. Thomas(?).

 

Presiding elder: G. W. Statton.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, C. T. Stearn, J. W. Grimm;

Hagerstown, G. W. Statton, J. D. Freed;

Hagerstown station, T. W. Lower;

Winchester, J. K. Nelson and one to be supplied;

Martinsburg, J. W. Hott;

Alleghany, J. M. Rodruck.

 

1865

Southern Section

 

Conference at Mount Zion, Augusta Co., Va., March 7.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; C. B. Hammack, secretary.

 

Collected for bishop $500 in Confederate money, supposed to be

equivalent to $20 in gold.

 

Acting presiding elder: J. J. Glossbrenner.

 

Much of the session taken up in reading essays and discussing them.

 

Appointments appear to have been about the same as in 1864.

 

1866

 

Conference at Rohrersville, Md., February 8.

 

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; C. B. Hammack, secretary.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 265

 

Present: Jacob J. Glossbrenner, J. K. Nelson, Dr. J. I. McNeil,

Jacob Markwood, J. Harp, James W. Hott, Henry Tallhelm, J. W.

Grimm, D. D. Keedy W. J. Miller, J. W. Nihiser, C. B. Hammack,

William Lutz, Adam I. Bovey, J. D. Freed, John W. Howe, George

Huffman, H. A. Bovey, A. M. Evers, Jacob F. Hott, George H. Snapp,

J. M. Rodruck, Jonathan Tobey, J. S. Grimm, George W. Statton,

W. T. Lower, C. T. Stearn, George W. Albaugh — 30.

 

Absent: William R. Coursey, P. H. Thomas, J. M. Canter, J.

Holcomb, George A. Shuey, Joseph Funkhouser, George B. Rimel,

J. Delpha, John Pope — 9.

 

Visiting ministers: S. Lindsay (agent Otterbein University),

D. Eberly, J. C. Smith, I. Baltzell, William Evers, D. E. Morris,

Henry Kumler.

 

Licentiate: J. E. Hott.

 

Granted transfers: G. B. Rimel, J. M. Canter.

 

J. Funkhouser withdrew to join Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

 

A resolution to raise within the first three months of the year

the share of the debt of the Book Concern apportioned by the

General Conference.

 

Missionary money received, $540.88.

 

Benevolent Fund, $363.58.

 

Resolutions passed sympathizing with Bishop Markwood in his

severe illness, and endorsing Otterbein University and Cottage

Hill College at York, Pa.

 

1867

 

Conference at Boonsboro, Md., February 7.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; C. B. Hammack, secretary.

 

Present: Jacob J. Glossbrenner. W. T. Lower, George W. Al-

baugh, J. K. Nelson, J. Harp, Henry Tallhelm, D. D. Keedy George

W. Rexrode, W. J. Miller, C. B. Hammack, J. D. Freed, George

Huffman, A. M. Evers, George H. Snapp, Jonathan Tobey, J. E.

Hott, J. Delpha, J. L. Grimm, George W. Statton, C. T. Stearn, J. W.

Kiracofe, Dr. T. S. McNeil, James W. Hott, J. W. Grimm, W. O.

Grimm, P. H. Thomas, J. W. Nihiser, Adam I. Bovey, John W.

Howe, H. A. Bovey, Jacob F. Hott, J. M. Rodruck, J. S. Grimm,

George A. Shuey, George W. Howe, S. Scott — 36.

 

Absent: Jacob Markwood, J. Holcomb, William R. Coursey,

William Lutz, John Pope — 5.

 

Visiting ministers: Z. Warner, J. Perry, L. Hess, W. A. Jackson,

Dr. Fetterhoff, Ex-Bishop Russell.

 

Licensed to preach: George W. Howe, J. L. Grimm, Snowden Scott.

 

Transferred to Rock River Conference: W. R. Coursey, J. Tobey.

 


 

266 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Presiding elder: G. W. Statton.

 

Died: J. Bachtel.

 

Agreement to cooperate with other conferences in procuring

a parsonage in Baltimore for the bishop.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, J. D. Freed, J. Delpha;

Boonsboro, A. M. Evers, J. L. Grimm;

Myersville, C. T. Stearn;

Hagerstown, C. B. Hammack, J. E. Hott;

Bath, J. K. Nelson;

Alleghany, J. W. Nihiser;

South Branch, J. M. Rodruck;

Winchester, P. H. Thomas;

Woodstock, J. W. Hott;

Lacey Spring, J. W. Howe;

Churchville, J. W. Kiracofe, J. W. Grimm;

Highland, G. W. Howe;

Martinsburg mission, W. T. Lower;

Pleasant Grove, H. Tallhelm;

Eastern Virginia, W. J. Miller;

Rockbridge, to be supplied;

Conference book agent, George Huffman.

 

1868

 

Conference at Martinsburg, W. Va., February 7.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; W. O. Grimm, C. T. Stearn, secretaries.

 

Present: Jacob J. Glossbrenner, George W. Statton, William T.

Lower, C. T. Stearn, George W. Albaugh, J. W. Kiracofe, J. K.

Nelson, T. S. McNeil, J. Harp, James W. Hott, Henry Tallhelm,

J. W. Grimm, D. D. Keedy J. S. Grimm, George A. Shuey, J. L. Grimm,

William O. Grimm, P. H. Thomas, William J. Miller, J. W. Nihiser,

C. B. Hammack, Adam I. Bovey, John W. Howe, George Huffman,

H. A. Bovey, A. M. Evers, Jacob F. Hott, George H. Snapp, J. M.

Rodruck, J. E, Hott, John W. Howe, Snowden Scott—  32.

 

Absent: William Lutz, Jacob Markwood, George W. Rexrode,

J. Holcomb, John Pope, J. D. Freed — 6.

 

Died: J. Pope, J. Delpha.

 

Visiting ministers: W. J. Shuey, J. Tobey, D. O’Farrell, I.

Baltzell, D. Eberly.

 

Conference divided into Potomac and Shenandoah Valley dis-

tricts, with G. W. Statton presiding elder for the first; J. W. Howe

for the second.

 

Ordained: William J. Miller.

 

Received on transfer: I. Baltzell, Levi Hess, Jonathan Tobey.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, J. W. Kiracofe, J. S. Grimm;

Myersville, A. M. Evers;

Boonsboro, C. T. Stearn, W. O. Grimm;

Hagerstown, C. B. Hammack, A. Hoover;

Martinsburg, W. T. Lower;

Back Creek mission, J. K. Nelson;

Bath, G. W. Howe;

South Branch. J. M. Rodruck;

Alleghany, G. H. Snapp;

Winchester, P. H. Thomas;

Woodstock, J. W. Grimm;

Lacey Spring, H. A. Bovey;

Rockingham, J. E. Hott;

Churchville, J. W. Hott;

Highland, G. W. Rexrode;

Pleasant Grove, H. Tallhelm;

Page Valley mission, W. J. Miller;

Eastern Virginia, to be supplied;

book agent, George Huffman.

 

Benevolent Fund, $532.88.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 267

 

1869

 

Conference at Otterbein chapel, Shenandoah Co., Va., February 11.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; A. M. Evers, secretary.

 

Present: Jacob J. Glossbrenner, William T. Lower, George W.

Albaugh, Dr. T. S. McNeil, Henry Tallhelm, P. H. Thomas, J. W.

Nihiser, John W. Howe, H. A. Bovey, James W. Hott, J. E. Hott,

J. L. Grimm, Isaiah Baltzell, Dr. Levi Hess, J. W. Grimm, Jacob Mark-

wood, G. T. Stearn, J. W. Kiracofe, Jacob F. Hott, William O. Grimm,

William J. Miller, C. B. Hammack, George Huffman, J. M. Rodruck,

George W. Howe, Snowden Scott, William Lutz, J. D. Freed, J.

Holcomb — 30.

 

Absent: J. K. Nelson, J. D. Keedy. G. H. Snapp, George A.

Shuey, J. Harp, A. I. Bovey, J. E. Grimm, George W. Rexrode, George

W. Statton — 9.

 

Licentiates: G. Harman, A. Hoover, W. H. Burtner.

 

Benevolent Fund, $623.88.

 

Collected for missions, $647.

 

Presiding elders: J. W. Howe (Potomac District), G. W. Statton

(S. V. District).

 

Appointments: Winchester, P. H. Thomas;

Woodstock, J. D. Friend;

Lacey Spring, H. A. Bovey;

Rockingham, J. L. Grimm;

East Rockingham, C. B. Hammack;

Churchville, J. W. Hott;

Page Valley mission, W. J. Miller;

East Virginia, G. J. Roudabush (by P. E.);

Rockbridge, A. Hoover;

Straight Creek, J. W. Nihiser;

Freedmen's mission, to be supplied by P. E.;

Frederick, H. Tallhelm, J. E. Hott;

Myersville, A. M. Evers;

Boonsboro, C. T. Stearn, G. H. Snapp;

Hagerstown, J. W. Kiracofe; Hagerstown mission

station, I. Baltzell;

Martinsburg, W. T. Lower;

Back Creek mission, J. K. Nelson;

Bath, G. W. Howe;

Alleghany, J. M. Rodruck;

South Branch, J. W. Grimm.

 

1870

 

Conference at Chewsville, Md., February 17.

Jonathan Weaver, bishop; W. O. Grimm, secretary.

 

Present: Jacob Markwood, Dr. T. S. McNeil, P. H. Thomas,

John W. Howe, James W. Hott, J. L. Grimm, J. W. Grimm. J. W. Kira-

cofe, William O. Grimm, George W. Brown, George Huffman. J. M.

Rodruck, J. D. Freed, D. D. Keedy George A. Shuey, J. Harp, A.

Hoover, J. K. Nelson, George W. Albaugh, J. Ross, Jacob J. Gloss-

brenner, William T. Lower, Henry Tallhelm, J. W. Nihiser, H. A.

Hovey, J. E. Hott, Jacob F. Hott, Isaiah Baltzell, C. T. Stearn. Wil-

liam J. Miller. C. B. Hammack, A. M. Evers, George W. Howe, J.

Holcomb, G. H. Snapp, George W. Statton, J. S. Grimm, Snowden

Scott, Dr. Levi Hess, John Ruebush, George Harman — 41.

 


 

268 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Absent: William Lutz, George W. Rexrode, Adam I. Bovey, W.

Burtner, G. J. Roudabush — 5.

 

Visiting ministers: Z. Colestock, J. X. Quigley, S. A. Mowers,

J. B. Bishop; all from Pennsylvania Conference.

 

W. T. Lower granted open transfer; J. E. Hott withdrew.

 

Licentiates: J. N. Ross, G. W. Brown.

 

Resolved that each pastor "be required to read four times every

years to each of his congregations the portion of Discipline re-

ferring to secret societies.

 

Benevolent Fund, $731.82; Mission Fund received from charges, $691.67.

 

Presiding elders: H. A. Bovey (Potomac District), J. W. Howe

(S. V. District).

 

Appointments, 162; classes, 138; members received, 906; mem-

bers at end of year, 4,917; Telescopes, 294; meeting houses, 7.5;

Sunday Schools, 91; Sunday School pupils. 4,586; teachers and

officers, 850; collected for all purposes, $16,541.05; salaries of

preachers, $8,156.90.

 

Appointments:

Frederick, J. K. Nelson;

Myersville, G. W. Statton;

Boonsboro, C. T. Stearn, W. O. Grimm;

Hagerstown mission, J. W. Kirocafe;

Hagerstown, I. Baltzell;

Martinsburg, P. H. Thomas;

Tuscarora mission, H. Tallhelm;

Potomac, G. H. Snapp;

Bath, W. J. Miller;

Alleghany, J. M. Rodruck;

South Branch, J. W. Grimm;

Winchester, G. W. Howe;

Woodstock, J. D. Freed;

Lacey Spring, A. M. Evers;

Rockingham mission, J. L. Grimm;

Pleasant Grove, C. B. Hammack;

Churchville, J. W. Hott;

Shenandoah mission, J. Holcomb;

Page Valley, J. N. Ross;

Eastern Virginia, G. J. Roudabush;

Straight Creek, A. Hoover;

Freedmen's mission, J. Brown.

 

1871

 

Conference at Mount Hebron church. Grant Co., W. Va., February 16.

Jonathan Weaver, bishop; J. W. Hott. secretary.

 

Present: A. M. Evers. H. A. Bovey, J. W. Grimm, P. H. Thomas,

James W. Hott, J. M. Rodruck, J. Holcomb, J. K. Ross, George A.

Shuey, Dr. T. S. McNeil. J. W. Nihiser, D. D. Keedy, George W.

Rexrode, C. T. Stearn, George W. Statton. George W. Howe, W. O.

Grimm, C. B. Hammack, John W. Howe, A. Hoover, W. J. Miller,

Henry Tallhelm, John Ruebush, W. Burtner, Snowden Scott, George

W. Albaugh, Adam I. Bovey — 28.

 

Absent: Jacob J. Glossbrenner, J. W. Kiracofe. G. H. Snapp,

G. W. Brown, George Huffman, Dr. Levi Hess, Joshua Harp. Jacob

Markwood, J. K. Nelson, J. D. Freed, Isaiah Baltzell, J. F. Hott.

J. S. Grimm, William Lutz, G. Harman — 15.

 

Assessment of $1000 for missionary expenses ordered.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 269

 

Establishment of Union Biblical Seminary endorsed.

 

Licentiate: J. B. Funk.

 

Ordained: A. Hoover.

 

Transferred: C. T. Stearn.

 

Preaching places, 194; classes, 153; members received, 1,036;

members at end of year, 5,401; Telescopes, 427; meeting houses, 72;

Sunday School pupils, 6,155; teachers and officers, 796; salaries of

preachers, $7,594.04; collected for missions, $897; for all purposes

$23,206.66.

 

Presiding elders: A. I. Bovey (Potomac District), _____ (S. V. District).

 

Appointments:

Myersville, G. W. Statton;

Frederick, J. K. Nelson;

Boonsboro, J. W. Hott, and one to be supplied;

Hagerstown, A. M. Evers;

Hagerstown station, J. W. Kiracofe;

Tuscarora mission, J. D. Freed;

Back Creek mission, G. H. Snapp;

Bath, W. J. Miller;

South Branch, J. M. Rodruck, C. M. Hott;

Alleghany, J. W. Nihiser;

Potomac mission, W. O. Grimm.

 

1872

 

Conference at Edinburg, Va., February 16.

Jonathan Weaver, bishop; J. L. Grimm, secretary.

 

Present: A. M. Evers, H. A. Bovey, C. B. Hammack, P. H. Thomas,

J. M. Rodruck, J. M. Ross, W. H. Burtner, Joshua Harp, George

Harman, J. Zarman, J. Negley, C. M. Hott, George W. Statton, John

Ruebush, T. S. McNeil, J. F. Hott, J. W. Kiracofe, John W. Howe,

J. L. Grimm, J. D. Freed, William J. Miller, Henry Tallhelm, J. W.

Nihiser, G. W. Albaugh, J. B. Funk, J. E. Whitesel, Abraham P.

Funkhouser, G. H. Snapp, J. K. Nelson, James W. Hott. William

O. Grimm, George W. Howe, J. M. Grimm, George Huffman, D. D.

Keedy, William Lutz, E. P. Funk, P. W. Weller, J. W. Funk — 39.

 

Absent: A. Hoover, George A. Shuey, Snowden Scott, Adam

I. Bovey, Jacob J. Glossbrenner, J. Holcomb, Levi Hess, George

W. Rexrode, Jacob Markwood, G. W. Brown, J. S. Grimm, Jonathan

Tobey — 12.

 

D. K. Flickinger, missionary secretary, present.

 

Licentiates: E. P. Funk, J. E. Whitesel, P. W.

Funkhouser, J. Negley, J. W. Funk. C. M. Hott.

 

Transferred: I. Baltzell (E. Penna.).

 

Received: J. Zarman (Minnesota Conference).

 

Benevolent Fund, $785.92; secured for missions, $300; for U. B.

Seminary, $100.

 

Special resolution encouraging the building of a church at

Winchester.

 

Committee appointed "to take under advisement the matter

 


 

270 UNITED BRETHREN

 

of publishing our minutes at the next session." Note: This was

the first move toward printing the conference minutes in pamphlet

form.

 

Preaching places, 192; classes, 152; members 5,626; meeting

houses 73; Telescopes, 299; parsonage, 7; Sunday Schools, 90;

teachers and officers, 763; scholars, 4,416; salaries, $8,951.44; mis-

sions $823.33; collected for all purposes, $26,687.18.

 

Presiding elders: H. A. Bovey (Potomac District), G. W. Statton

(S. V. District).

 

Appointments:

Hagerstown, J. W. Howe;

Myersville, J. K. Nelson;

Hagerstown, J. W. Kiracofe;

Boonsboro and Keedysville, J. W. Hott W. O. Grimm;

Martinsburg, P. H. Thomas;

South Branch, A. Hoover;

Alleghany, J. W. Nihiser, P. W. Weller;

Frederick, A. M. Evers;

Bath, J. M. Rodruck;

Potomac mission, J. Zarman, C. I. B. Brane;

Mechanicstown, J. B. Funk;

New Creek, W. J. Miller;

Back Creek mission, J. E. Whitesel;

Churchville, J. L. Grim;

Rockingham, H. Tallhelm, C. M. Hott;

Page Valley, E. P. Funk;

East Virginia mission, J. M. Ross;

Lacey Spring, J. Ruebush;

Highland, J. W. Grimm;

Edinburg, J. W. Grimm;

Winchester, C. B. Hammack;

Winchester station, G. W. Howe;

Tuscarora mission, J. D. Freed;

Rockbridge, G. H. Snapp;

Freedmen's mission, to be supplied;

bishop Ohio district, J. J. Glossbrenner.

 

1873

 

Conference at Hagerstown. Md., February 13.

Jonathan Weaver, bishop, W. O. Grimm, secretary.

 

Present: George W. Statton, J. F. Hott, James W. Hott, J. K.

Nelson, J. W. Grimm, George W. Howe, William O. Grimm, J. W.

Nihiser, George W. Albaugh, J. Zarman, Abram P. Funkhouser,

A Hoover, Jonathan Tobey, John Ruebush, A. M. Evers, H. A.

Bovey, C. B. Hammack, P. H. Thomas, J. M. Roderick, Henry Tall-

helm; D. D. Keedy, J. B. Funk, J. E. Whitesel, J. W. Funk, J. S.

Grimm, C. I. B. Brane, T. S. McNeil, J. W. Kiracofe, John W. Howe.

J 1 Grimm J. D. Freed, William J. Miller, George Huffman, Joshua

Harp, E. P. Funk, P. W. Weller, C. M. Hott, Snowden Scott, J.

Zahn — 39.

 

Absent Jacob Markwood, W. H. Burtner, J. Holcomb, Levi

Hess, Jacob J. Glossbrenner, William Lutz, G. W. Brown, Adam I.

Bovey, J. N. Ross, George Harman, George A. Shuey, George H.

Snapp — 12.

 

G. W. Statton ordered to prepare the minutes for publication

and 500 copies to be printed.

 

Visiting ministers: W. A. Jackson, G. W. M. Rigor, W. T. Lower,

_____ Shaffer.

 

Received: J. Zahn, C. I. B. Brane.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 271

 

Died: J. Markwood. Memorial services held.

 

Assessment for missionary purposes, $1,500.

 

Vote to cooperate with Lebanon Valley College. Trustees elected.

 

Benevolent Fund, $887.26.

 

Strong resolutions in favor of building church at Washing-

ton, D. C.

 

Appointments, 165; classes, 147; members received, 867; at end

of year, 5,756; Telescopes, 361; meeting houses, 76; Sunday Schools,

93; teachers and officers, 799; scholars, 4,544; parsonages, 7; col-

lected for missions, $1,190.11; for all purposes. $18,562, 55; salaries

of preachers, $7,785.17.

 

Presiding elders: D. D. Keedy (Potomac Dist.), G. W. Statton

(S. V. Dist.)

 

Appointed:

Frederick, A. M. Evers;

Mechanicstown, C. M. Hott;

Myersville, J. K. Nelson;

Keedysville station, H. A. Bovey;

Boonsboro station, J. W. Kiracofe;

Hagerstown, J. L. Grimm;

Hagerstown station, J. W. Hott;

Potomac mission, J. D. Freed;

New Germany,

C. I. B. Brane;

New Creek, W. J. Miller;

South Branch, J. E. Whitesel;

Bath, J. M. Rodruck;

Martinsburg station, J. W. Howe;

Tuscarora mission, C. B. Hammack;

Back Creek mission, A. Hoover;

Winchester, J. B. Funk;

Winchester station, G. W. Howe;

Edinburg, J. Ruebush;

Lacey Spring, J. W. Grimm;

Rockingham, J. W. Nihiser;

Singers Glen, P. H. Thomas;

Page Valley, E. P. Funk;

Churchville, W. O. Grimm;

Rockbridge, G. W. Kiracofe;

East Virginia mission; H. Tallhelm;

Alleghany, J. B. Funk;

Highland, P. W. Weller.

 

1874

 

Conference at Martinsburg, W. Va., February 12.

David Edwards, bishop; W. O. Grimm, J. L. Grimm, secretaries.

 

Visiting ministers: W. O. Tobey, E. Light, B. G. Huber, D. S.

Early, J. A. Evans, Jacob Erb (ex-bishop).

 

J. Holcomb, J. N. Ross withdrew to join Methodist Episcopal

Church, South.

 

Honorably dismissed at their own request: H. Tallhelm, J.

Tobey.

 

Received: I. M. Underwood (Parkersburg Conf.), Charles Miller

(Evan. Asso'n).

 

Transferred: L. Hess (Parkersburg Conf.)

 

Licentiates: Z. Umstot, G. W. Kiracofe, J. N. Fries, D. Barn-

hart, William Beall, J. G. Humphries.

 

Ordained: W. H. Burtner, G. H. Snapp.

 

J. Zahn grated a renewal of his long lost parchments.

 

At an evening missionary meeting $500 subscribed.

 

Benevolent Fund, $890.39.

 

D. D. Keedy, J. Ruebush a committee to raise funds to remove

 


 

272 UNITED BRETHREN

 

the body of Bishop Markwood from Luray to Rohrersville, and to

erect a monument.

 

Appointments, 179; organized churches, 152; members received,

864; at end of year, 5,731; Telescopes, 448; meeting houses, 91;

parsonages, 7; Sunday Schools, 90; teachers and officers, 895;

scholars, 5,110; collected for missions, $349.85; for all purposes,

$21,383.27; salaries, $8,700.92.

 

Presiding elders: D. D. Keedy (Potomac Dist.), J. Ruebush (S. V. Dist.).

 

Appointed:

Frederick, A. M. Evers;

Mechanicstown, C. I. B. Brane;

Myersville, J. K. Nelson;

Keedysville, H. A. Bovey;

Boonsboro, J. W. Kiracofe;

Hagerstown, J. L. Grimm;

Hagerstown station, G. W. Statton;

Potomac mission, J. D. Freed;

New Germany, W. D. Barger;

Alleghany, J. R. Funk;

Martinsburg station, J. W. Howe;

Tuscarora mission, C. B. Hammack;

Back Creek mission, P. H. Thomas;

Bath, J. M. Rodruck;

Winchester mission station, J. E. Whitesel;

Winchester, J. W. Funk;

Edinburg, W. Beall;

Lacey Spring, J. W. Grimm;

Rockingham, J. W. Nihiser;

Singers Glen, I. M. Underwood;

Page Valley, G. J. Roudabush;

Churchville, W. O. Grim;

Highland, E. P. Funk;

Mill Creek mission, to be supplied;

Rockbridge mission, G. W. Kiracofe;

New Creek, W. J. Miller;

South Branch, P. W. Weller;

Swift Run, Henry Jones;

Cacapon, Charles Miller;

Timber Ridge, J. M. Hott;

home evangelist. G. H. Snapp;

treasurer General Missionary Society, J. W. Hott;

bishop west of Mississippi, Glossbrenner.

 

1875

 

Conference at Keedysville, Md., February 3.

David Edwards, bishop; W. O. Grimm, William Beall, Secretaries.

 

Present: Jacob J. Glossbrenner, Jacob F. Hott, John W. Howe,

A. M. Evers, H. A. Bovey, J. L. Grimm, J. D. Freed, William O. Grimm,

D. D. Keedy, George W. Statton, George Huffman, J. Zahn, J. W.

Kiracofe, James W. Hott, J. W. Grimm, J. M. Rodruck, W. H. Burtner,

Joshua Harp, John Ruebush, George A. Shuey, J. S. Grimm, J. K. Nel-

son, C. B. Hammack, P. H. Thomas, W. J, Miller, J. W. Nihiser, Geo.

W. Albaugh, George Harman, J. Zarman, Abram P. Funkhouser,

Snowden Scott, I. M. Underwood, J. N. Fries, W. H. Clary, G. J.

Roudabush, J. R. Funk, J. E. Whitesel, J. W. Funk, George W.

Rexrode, Z. Umstot, D. Barnhart, A. D. Freed, Henry Jones, E. P.

Funk, P. M. Weller, C. M. Hott, C. I. B. Brane, G. W. Kiracofe, Wil-

liam Beall, M. F. Keiter, J. N. Ridenour — 51.

 

Absent: William Lutz, Adam I. Bovey, Charles Miller, A. Hoover,

G. H. Snapp, J. G. Humphreys, G. W. Brown, J. Negley — 8.

 

Visiting ministers: Pres. Hammond, W. O. Smith, J. X. Quigley,

G. W. Lightner, J. B. Resler.

 

Licentiates: A. D. Freed, W. H. Clary, M. F. Keiter, G. J. Rouda-

bush, Henry Jones, J. R. Ridenour.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 273

 

Ordained: E. P. Funk, J. W. Funk, C. M. Hott, P. W. Weller,

J. E. Whitesel.

 

G. W. Statton, D. D. Keedy, J. Harp a committee to have Con-

ference incorporated.

 

D. D. Keedy appointed agent for Lebanon Valley College.

 

Died: Dr. T. S. McNeil, drowned in Ohio while on his way to

Parkersburg Conference.

 

Appointments, 188; organized churches, 152; members received,

950; at end of year, 6,123; Telescopes, 404; meeting houses, 87;

parsonages, 9; Sunday Schools, 119; teachers and officers. 114 (?);

scholars, 5,686; collected for missions, $1,351.83; for all purposes,

$21,328.51; salaries of preachers, $10,151.81.

 

Presiding elders: J. W. Howe (Potomac Dist.), J. Ruebush,

(S. V. Dist.).

 

Appointed:

Frederick, J. L. Grimm;

Mechanicstown, C. I. B. Brane;

Myersville, J. V. Funk;

Boonsboro station, J. W. Kiracofe;

Keedysville station, H. A. Bovey;

Hagerstown, J. R. Funk;

Hagerstown station, G. W. Statton;

Martinsburg station, A. M. Evers;

Potomac mission, G. W. Kiracofe;

Tuscarora, J. D. Freed;

Bath, C. R. Hammack;

Back Creek, P. H. Thomas;

Alleghany, G. W. Rexrode:

Keyser mission, J. W. Grimm;

New Creek, J. M. Rodruck;

Winchester, J. K. Nelson;

Winchester mission station, M. F. Keiter;

Edinburg, W. Beall;

Dayton, J. W. Nihiser;

Lacey Spring, I. M. Underwood;

Rockingham, W. O. Grimm, W. D. Barger;

Page Valley, G. J. Roudabush;

Churchville, J. E. Whitesel;

Rockbridge, C. H. Crowell;

Madison mission, H. Jones;

Bloomery mission, J. M. Hott;

Cacapon mission, C. Miller;

South Branch, J. R. Ridenour;

Mill Creek, G. H. Snapp;

Highland, E. P. Funk;

Augusta Freedmen's mission, J. A. Evans;

Rockingham mission, S. T. Wells.

 

1876

 

Conference at Churchville, Va., February 2.

David Edwards, bishop; W. O. Grimm, A. M. Evers, secretaries.

 

Present: Jacob J. Glossbrenner, John W. Howe, J. K. Nelson,

C. B. Hammack, W. O. Grimm, W. PI. Burtner, George W. Albaugh,

E. P. Funk, Abram P. Funkhouser, G. H. Snapp, I. M. Underwood,

William Beall, G. J. Roudabush, S. T. Wells, George W. Statton,

A. M. Evers, H. A. Bovey, J. L. Grimm, J. W. Nihiser, D. D. Keedy,

George Harman, J. Zarman, J. W. Funk, G. W. Brown, C. I. B.

Brane, Charles Miller, A. D. Freed, Henry Jones, John Ruebush,

J. W. Kiracofe, J. W. Hott, J. M. Rodruck, George Huffman, Joshua

Harp, J. B. Funk, J. E. Whitesel, C. M. Hott, George W. Howe, J.

Zahn, G. W. Kiracofe, M. F. Keiter, J. R. Ridenour — 45.

 

Absent: J. F. Hott, W. J. Miller, J. S. Grimm, George W. Rex-

road, Z. Umstot, J. G. Humphreys, J. W. Grimm, William Lutz,

George A. Shuey, Adam I. Bovey, J. N. Fries, W. H. Clary, P. H.

 


 

274 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Thomas, P. W. Weller, Snowden Scott, J. Negley, D. Barnhart — 17.

 

S. T. Wells (colored) received from Des Moines Conference.

 

Transferred: J. W. Grimm.

 

Visiting ministers: W. J. Shuey, D. K. Flickinger, J. B. Resler,

J. M. Hershey, Prof. W. S. Walker.

 

G. W. Albaugh withdrew from conference and church.

 

Ordained: W. Beall, C. I. B. Brane, G. Harman, A. P. Funk-

houser.

 

Licentiates: C. W. Stinespring, I. T. Parlett.

 

Presiding elders: J. Ruebush (Potomac Dist.), J. W. Howe

(S. V. Dist.).

 

Appointments, 212; organized churches, 163; members received,

1,245; at end of year, 6,772; Sunday Schools, 126; teachers and

officers, 1,141; scholars, 5,639; meeting houses, 92; parsonages, 9;

Telescopes, 389; collected for mission $1,206.85; for all purposes,

$21,100; salaries of preachers, $9,500.

 

Appointed:

Hagerstown, J. B. Funk;

Hagerstown station, C. M. Hott;

Potomac, G. W. Kiracofe;

Boonsboro, H. A. Bovey;

Keedysville station, J. W. Kiracofe;

Mechanicstown, E. P. Funk;

Myersville, J. W. Funk;

Frederick mission and station, J. L. Grimm;

Martinsburg station, A. M. Evers;

Tuscarora, J. D. Freed;

Alleghany, J. E. Widmeyer;

Westernport mission station, I. M. Underwood;

Bath, C. B. Hammack;

Berkeley, W. Beall;

New Creek, J. M. Rodruck;

Winchester, J. K. Nelson;

Winchester mission station, G. W. Howe;

South Branch, J. R. Ridenour;

South Fork mission, C. Miller;

Mill Creek, to be supplied;

Highland, A. P. Funkhouser;

Churchville, J. E. Whitesel;

Rockingham, W. O. Grimm;

Shady Grove, C. W. Stinespring;

Lacey Spring, M. F. Keiter;

Dayton, J. W. Nihiser;

Edinburg, G. W. Statton;

Page Valley, G. J. Roudabush;

Madison mission, H. Jones;

Rockbridge, C. H. Crowell;

Bloomery mission, J. M. Hott;

Augusta Freedmen's mission, J. A. Evans;

Rockingham Freedmen's mission, S. T. Wells;

Garrett, G. H. Snapp;

agent Lebanon Valley College, D. D. Keedy;

treasurer General Missionary Society, J. W. Hott;

bishop Ohio District, J. J. Glossbrenner.

 

1877

 

Conference at Rohrersville, Md., February 3.

John Dickson, bishop; W. O. Grimm, A. P. Funkhouser, secretaries.

 

Present: Jacob J. Glossbrenner, John W. Howe, J. K. Nelson,

C. B. Hammack, William O. Grimm, D. D. Keedy, J. Zarman, J. W.

Funk, G. H. Snapp, I. M. Underwood, M. F. Keiter, J. R. Ridenour,

J. D. Freed, J. S. Grimm, Z. Umstot, I. T. Parlett, George W. Statton,

A. M. Evers, H. A. Bovey, J. L. Grimm, J. W. Nihiser, Joshua Harp,

J. E. Whitesel, C. M. Hott, C. I. B. Brane, G. W. Kiracofe, G. J.

Roudabush, J. F. Hott, W. J. Miller, George W. Rexrode, J. N. Fries,

S. T. Wells, John Ruebush, J. W. Kiracofe, J. W. Hott, J. M. Rodruck,

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 275

 

W. H. Burtner, J. B. Funk, Abram P. Funkhouser, A. Hoover, J.

Zahn, William Beall, Henry Jones, P. H. Thomas, P. W. Weller,

J. Negley, C. W. Stinespring — 47.

 

Absent: George A. Shuey, George Harman, Charles Miller, Adam

I. Bovey, W. H. Clary, A. D. Freed, G. W. Brown, William Lutz,

George Hoffman, George W. Howe, Snowden Scott, J. G. Hum-

phreys — 13.

 

J. E. Hott received from Dakota Conference.

 

Visiting ministers: S. M. Hippard, J. B. Resler, J. M. Hershey,

President DeLong.

 

Licentiates: S. K. Wine, J. D. Donovan, J. M. Hott, J. E. Wid-

meyer.

 

The names of G. W. Brown and J. G. Humphreys dropped from

roll, the former for withdrawing under charges, the latter for

failing to meet his committee on course of reading.

 

Ordained: G. W. Kiracofe.

 

Died: A. D. Freed, (Oct. 1876).

 

Minutes ordered printed.

 

Articles of Incorporation adopted.

 

Benevolent Fund, $1,061.99.

 

A Conference Educational Society provided for. J. W. Hott to

prepare a constitution, A. P. Funkhouser, an address for publica-

tion.

 

Appointments, 223; organized churches, 179; members received,

1,109; at end of year, 7,269; Telescopes, 388; meeting houses, 96;

parsonage, 9; Sunday Schools, 139; teachers and officers, 1,204;

scholars, 6,441; collected for missions, $1,151.89; for all other

purposes, $16,790.17; salaries of pastors, $9,521.99.

 

Presiding elders: J. Ruebush (Potomac Dist.), J. H. Howe

(S. V. Dist.).

 

Appointed:

Churchville, J. E. Whitesel;

Rockingham, J. E. Hott;

Shady Grove, J. D. Donovan;

South Fork mission, E. P. Funk;

Highland, J. E. Widmeyer;

Winchester, W. J. Miller;

Winchester station, J. K. Nelson;

South Branch, I. M. Underwood;

Rockbridge. C. H. Crowell;

Edinburg, W. O. Grimm;

Lacey Spring, M. F. Keiter;

Mill Creek, to be supplied;

Bloomery mission, J. M. Hott;

Page Valley, G. J. Roudabush;

Dayton, A. P. Funkhouser;

Madison, H. Jones;

Augusta Freedmen's mission, J. A. Evans;

Rockingham Freedmen's mission, S. T. Wells;

Frederick circuit and station, J. L. Grimm;

Mechanicstown, J. D. Freed;

Hagerstown, J. R. Ridenour;

Hagerstown station, C. M. Hott;

Boonsboro, H. A. Bovey; Keedysville station, J. W. Kiracofe;

Potomac mission, P. W. Weller;

Martinsburg station, A. M. Evers;

Opequon, J. B. Funk;

Charles Mission, J. Negley;

Bath, C. B. Hammack;

New Creek, G. W. Kiracofe;

Garrett, G. W. Rexrode;

Westernport station, C. W. Stinespring;

Myersville, J. W. Funk;

Berkeley, W. Beall;

 


 

276 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Alleghany, J. M. Rodruck;

bishop West Mississippi Dist., J. J. Glossbrenner;

general book agent and evangelist, G. H. Snapp;

General Missionary Treasurer, J. W. Hott.

 

1878

 

Conference at Winchester, Va., February 20.

J. J. Glossbrenner, bishop; W. O. Grimm, secretary.

 

Present: Jacob J. Glossbrenner, A. M. Evers, J. W. Hott, J. M.

Rodruck, Joshua Harp, J. E. Whitesel, C. M. Hott, I. M. Underwood,

Henry Jones, J. D. Freed, George W. Rexrode, J. N. Fries, George

W. Howe, J. D. Donovan, I. T. Hott, C. W. Hutsler, J. H. Parlett,

J. W. Kiracofe, John Ruebush, D. D. Keedy, William O. Grimm, E. P.

Funk, Abram P. Funkhouser, G. H. Snapp, William Beall, J. R.

Ridenour, W. J. Miller, J. A. Negley, C. W. Stinespring, Snowden

Scott, J. M. Hott, S. K. Wine, C. H. Crowell. E. Ludwick, John W.

Howe, J. K. Nelson, J. L. Grimm, W. H. Burtner, J. Zarman, J. W.

Funk, C. I. B. Brane, M. F. Keiter, J. F. Hott, J. S. Grimm, Z. Umstot,

I. T. Parlett, D. Barnhart, S. T. Wells, J. E. Widmeyer, W. R.

Berry — 50.

 

Absent: George W. Statton, J. B. Funk, W. H. Clary, P. H.

Thomas, George Harman, Adam I. Bovey, H. A. Bovey, A. Hoover,

G. W. Kiracofe, P. W. Weller, Charles Miller. J. W. Nihiser, J. Zahn,

G. J. Roudabush, George Hoffman, William Lutz — 10.

 

Visiting ministers: D. K. Flickinger, S. M. Hippard, J. M. Her-

shey, J. A. Evans, Pres. DeLong.

 

J. B. Funk, G. W. Kiracofe, transferred to Pennsylvania Con-

ference, H. A. Bovey to Central Ohio.

 

licentiates: C. H. Crowell, J. H. Parlett, I. T. Hott, W. R. Berry,

C. W. Hutsler, E. Ludwick.

 

Ordained: H. Jones, M. F. Keiter, Z. Umstot, J. N. Fries, J. A.

Negley, J. R. Ridenour.

 

Benevolent Fund, $1,139.02.

 

A Quarterly Review recommended.

 

Died: C. B. Hammack (Mar. 1).

 

Constitution for Education Society adopted, and address of

A. P. Funkhouser ordered printed.

 

Resolution passed requiring local preachers to submit their

annual reports in writing.

 

Presiding elders: W. O. Grimm (Potomac Dist.), J. W. Howe

(Shenandoah Dist.), A. M. Evans (South Branch Dist.).

 

Appointments, 219; organized churches, 170; members received,

1,106; at end of year, 7,633; Telescopes, 498; church houses, 101;

parsonages, 10; Sunday Schools, 142; teachers and officers, 1,264;

scholars, 7,129; collected for missions, $1,186.97; for all purposes,

$21,114.20; salaries of preachers, $8,757.16.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 277

 

Appointed:

Frederick, E. Ludwick;

Frederick station. J. L. Grimm;

Mechanicstown, J. D. Freed;

Myersville, C. M. Hott;

Keedysville, J. W. Kiracofe;

Boonsboro station, J. Ruebush;

Hagerstown. J. R. Ridenour;

Hagerstown station, J. W. Funk;

Potomac mission, E. P. Funk;

Opequon, S. K. Wine;

Martinsburg station, J. K. Nelson;

Bath, I. M. Underwood;

Berkeley, W. Beall;

Churchville. J. E. Whitesel;

Augusta, J. E. Hott;

Dayton, A. P. Funkhouser;

Lacey Spring, G. J. Roudabush;

Edinburg. M. F. Keiter;

Mount Zion, J. M. Hott;

Winchester station, W. J. Miller;

Page Valley, C. H. Crowell;

Madison mission, H. Jones;

Rockbridge. C. I. B. Brane;

Shady Grove. W. R. Berry;

Augusta Freedmen's mission, J. Waite;

Rockingham Freedmen's mission, J. A. Evans;

Clarke Freedmen's mission, to be supplied;

Garrett, G. W. Rexrode;

Alleghany, J. M. Rodruck;

Westernport station, C. W. Stinespring;

New Creek, J. W. Nihiser;

South Fork mission, J. F. Hott;

South Branch, J. E. Widmeyer; Bloomery mission, J. D. Donovan;

Mill Creek, J. G. Ketterman;

Highland, J. H. Parlett;

editor Telescope, J. W. Hott;

Conference Evangelist, G. H. Snapp.

 

1879

 

Conference at Mechanicstown, Md., February 26.

A. P. Funkhouser, secretary.

 

Present: Jacob J. Glossbrenner. A. M. Evers, James W. Hott,

William O. Grimm, J. W. Funk, I. M. Underwood, Henry Jones, W. J.

Miller, J. A. Negley, I. T. Parlett, G. J. Roudabush, J. D. Donovan.

S. K. Wine, W. R. Berry, George P. Hott, John Ruebush. J. W.

Kiracofe, D. D. Keedy, Joshua Harp, C. M. Hott, William Beall,

J. R. Ridenour, J. S. Grimm, J. N. Fries. J. W. Nihiser, George Har-

man, J. E. Hott, J. E. Widmeyer, J. H. Parlett, B. F. Cronise. John

W. Howe, J. K. Nelson, J. L. Grimm, Abram P. Funkhouser, G. H.

Snapp, M. F. Keiter, J. D. Freed, George W. Rexrode, C. W. Stine-

spring, A. Hoover, D. Barnhart, C. W. Hutsler, E. Ludwick — 44.

 

Absent: George W. Statton, J. M. Rodruck, W. H. Burtner, E.

P. Funk, C. I. B. Brane, J. Zahn, P. W. Weller, William Lutz, Snow-

don Scott, S. T. Wells, J. Zarman. I. T. Holt, C. H. Clary, George

Huffman, Adam I. Bovey, C. B. Crowell, J. E. Whitesel, Z. Umstot,

P. H. Thomas, Charles Miller, George W. Howe, J. M. Hott — 22.

 

Visiting ministers: J. P. Miller, J. A. Evans, J. K. Billhimer,

Charles W. Miller, I. Baltzell, L. W. Cranmer, J. X. Quigley, D. D.

DeLong, G. W. Kiracofe, J. H. Powell, Mrs. J. K. Billhimer.

 

Ordained: B. F. Cronise, G. J. Roudabush, I. T. Parlett, D.

Barnhart.

 

Licentiate: G. P. Hott.

 

Cash raised for Edwards Academy, $100.

 

Most of the local preachers submitted written reports.

 


 

278 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Died: J. E. Whitesel, aged 27.

 

Visiting committee to Shenandoah Institute appointed, this be-

ing the first official recognition of the school.

 

Appointments, 215; organized churches, 186; members received,

1,113: at end of year, 7,808; Telescopes, 564; Sunday School, 146;

teachers and officers, 1,375; scholars, 7,531; meeting houses, 104;

parsonages, 10; collected for missions, $1,155.94; for all purposes,

$24,250.47; salaries of ministers, $9,509.86.

 

Presiding elders: W. O. Grimm (Potomac Dist.), J. W. Howe

Shenandoah Dist.), J. E. Hott (South Branch Dist.).

 

Appointed:

Frederick, W. Beall;

Frederick station, J. L. Grimm;

Mechanicstown, J. D. Freed;

Myersville, C. M. Hott;

Keedysville station, J. W. Kiracofe;

Boonsboro, J. Ruebush;

Hagerstown, J. W. Funk;

Hagerstown station, C. W. Stinespring;

Opequon, W. R. Evers;

Martinsburg station, J. K. Nelson;

Berkeley Springs, I. M. Underwood;

Berkeley, J. H. Parlett;

Churchville, A. M. Evers;

Augusta, C. H. Crowell;

Dayton, A. P. Funkhouser and one to be supplied;

Lacey Spring, G. J. Roudabush;

Winchester, E. Ludwick;

Winchester station, J. R. Ridenour;

Page Valley, H. Jones;

Madison mission, I. T. Hott;

Rockbridge, A. Hoover;

Shady Grove mission, W. J. Miller;

Clarke mission, J. M. Hott;

Augusta Freedmen's mission, to be supplied;

Rockingham Freedmen's mission, J. A. Evans;

Garrett, M. A. Salt;

Alleghany, W. H. Glary;

Westernport station, J. K. Widmeyer;

New Creek, W. R. Berry;

Moorefield mission, I. T. Parlett;

Mill Creek. W. Hesse;

Franklin, S. K. Wine;

editor Telescope, J. W. Hott;

bishop East Ohio District, J. J. Glossbrenner;

professor in Shenandoah Seminary, J. N. Fries.

 

1880

 

Conference at Edinburg, Va., Mar. 3.

John Dickson, bishop, A. P. Funkhouser, secretary.

 

Present: John Ruebush, J. W. Kiracofe, D. D. Keedy, William

O. Grimm, J. Zarman, J. W. Funk, William Beall, J. R. Ridenour,

William J. Miller, J. N. Fries, J. W. Nihiser, G. J. Roudabush, Wil-

liam Lutz, J. D. Donovan, J. E. Widmeyer, C. H. Crowell, E. Lud-

wick, M. L. Mayselles, M. A. Salt, John W. Howe, J. L. Grimm, W. H.

Burtner, Abram P. Funkhouser, C. M. Hott, C. W. Stinespring, A.

Hoover, George Huffman, George W. Howe, J. E. Hott, S. K. Wine,

W. R. Berry, B. F. Cronise, William Hesse, A. M. Evers, J. W. Hott,

J. M. Rodruck, Joshua Harp, J. W. Funk, I. M. Underwood, Henry

Jones, J. D. Freed, George W. Rexrode, I. T. Parlett, W. H. Clary,

Charles Miller, D. Barnhart, I. T. Hott, C. W. Hutsler, J. H. Parlett,

J. G. Ketterman, A. M. Horn — 54.

 

Absent: Jacob J. Glossbrenner, J. S. Grimm, P. H. Thomas, Snow-

don Scott, Z. Umstot, George Harman, C. I. B. Brane, P. W. Weller,

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 279

 

J. M. Hott, S. T. Wells, J. Zahn, Adam I. Bovey, George P. Hott.

J. A. Evans, J. A. Negley — 15.

 

Visiting ministers: M. Bulger, J. X. Quigley, D. O’Farrell, W.

J. Prunner, Pres. D. D. DeLong.

 

Received: J. A. Evans (Mich. Conf.).

 

Voted to furnish a room at U. B. Seminary at a cost of $100;

$30 raised in conference.

 

Transferred: P. W. Weller, S. J. Wells, G. W. Statton.

 

Ordained: J. E. Widmeyer, C. W. Stinespring.

 

Licentiates: W. Hesse, A. M. Horn, J. G. Ketterman, S. H. Snell,

M. L. Mayselles, M. A. Salt.

 

Died: Adam I. Bovey, aged about 82.

 

Preachers' Aid Fund, $l,308.89.

 

Bridgewater church sold for $400, three-fifth of this to go to

district parsonage, two-fifths to Augusta parsonage.

 

Trustees appointed for district parsonage.

 

Appointments, 212; organized churches 186; members received.

1548 at end of year, 8,564; Telescopes (banner conference), 613;

meeting houses, 111; parsonage, 10; Sunday Schools, 150; scholars;

8,347; collected for missions, $1,187.62; for all purposes, $26,570.06,

preachers' salaries, $10,323.05

 

Presiding elders: A. P. Funkhouser. (Shenandoah Dist.), J. K.

Nelson. (Potomac Dist.). J. E. Hott, (South Branch Dist.).

 

Appointed:

Churchville, A. M. Evers;

Augusta, C. H. Crowell;

Dayton, J. W. Howe;

Winchester, J. W. Nihiser;

Winchester station, J. R. Ridenour;

Page Valley mission, H. Jones;

Madison mission, M. A. Salt;

Rockbridge mission, A. Hoover;

Clarke mission, J. M. Hott;

Lacey Spring, G. J. Roudabush;

Dayton station, C. M. Hott;

Edinburg, M. F. Keiter;

Nelson mission, to be supplied;

Frederick, W. Beall;

Frederick station, C. W. Stinespring;

Mechanicstown, J. D. Freed;

Myersville, J. Ruebush;

Keedysville station, W. O. Grimm;

Boonsboro, J. L. Grimm;

Hagerstown, J. W. Funk;

Hagerstown station, E. Ludwick;

Opequon, J. W. Kiracofe;

Martinsburg station, J. E. Widmeyer;

Berkeley, C. W. Hutsler;

Berkeley Springs station, J. E. Widmeyer;

Garrett, to he supplied;

Alleghany, W. H. Clary;

Westernport station. J. W. Hicks;

New Creek, W. R. Berry;

Moorefield mission, J. M. Bolton;

South Branch, J. M. Rodruck;

Bloomery, S. H. Snell;

Mill Creek. A. M. Horn;

Franklin, W. H. Sampsell;

West Augusta mission, to be supplied;

bishop East Ohio District, J. J. Glossbrenner;

editor Telescope, J. W. Hott;

professor in Shenandoah Seminary, J. N. Fries.

 

1881

 

Conference at Boonsboro, Md., March 2,

J. J. Glossbrenner. bishop. A. P. Funkhouser. secretary.

 

Present: D. Barnhart. C. I. B. Brane, B. F. Cronise, C. P. Dyche,

 


 

280 UNITED BRETHREN

 

W.O. Fries, J. J. Glossbrenner, W. O. Grimm, W. Beall, J. M. Bolton,

C. H. Crowell, A. M. Evers, J. W. Funk, J. L. Grimm. J. Harp, W. R.

Berry, W. H. Clary, J. D. Donovan, J. D. Freed, A. P. Funkhouser,

J. S. Grimm, W. Hesse, J. W. Hicks, C. M. Hott, J. M. Hott, G. W.

Howe, D. D. Keedy, J. W. Kiracofe, M. L. Mayselles, J. K. Nelson,

J. R. Ridenour, J. Roudabush, S. H. Snell, I. M. Underwood. J.

Zahn, A. Hoover. J. E. Hott. J. W. Hott, C. W. Hutsler, M. F.

Keiter, E. Ludwick, C. Miller, I. T. Parlett, J. M. Rodruck, M. A.

Salt, C. W. Stinespring, J. E. Widmeyer, J. Zarman, A. M. Horn, J.

F. Hott, J. W. Howe, H. Jones, J. G. Ketterman, W. L. Martin,

J. A. Negley, J. H. Parlett, G. J. Roudabush, W. H. Sampsell, Z.

Umstot, S. K. Wine – 59.

 

Absent: W. H. Burtner. G. Harman, G. Hoffman, J. W. Nihiser,

K H. Thomas. J. A. Evans, G. P. Hott. W. Lutz. G. W. Rexrode,

J. N. Fries, I. T. Hott. W. J. Miller. S. Scott — 13

 

Visiting ministers: G. H. Snapp, W. R. Coursey, L. Hess J. X.

Quigley. H. W. Whitlock, B. G. Huber, Col. R. Cowden, Pres D. D.

DeLong.

 

Received: J. M. Hicks (from Me).

 

Licentiates: W. O. Fries, W. L. Martin, C. P. Dyche, W. H.

Sampsell, J. M. Bolton.

 

1,000 copies minutes ordered printed.

 

Westernport mission station stricken from list.

 

General Conference requested to arrange for the publication of

graded Sunday School helps.

 

Preachers' Aid Fund, $1.493.02

 

Collection of $56.30 for W. R. Coursey, visiting his old home.

 

J. H. Parlett, W. R. Berry, J. D. Donovan.

 

William Beall at his own request given honorable dismissal

from conference and church.

 

Died: P. W. Weller.

 

For lay representation, 14 quarterly conferences: against it, 21.

 

Next General Conference requested to provide for pro rata

representation in its membership.

 

Presiding elders: A. P. Funkhouser, (Shen. Dist.), J. K. Nelson

(Potomac Dist.), J. E. Hott, (South Branch Dist.).

 

Appointments, 224: organized churches, 195; members received

742, at end of year, 8,462: Telescopes, 674; meeting houses 113;

parsonage 9; Sunday Schools, 150; teachers and officers 1,421;

scholars 8,029; collected for missions, $1,164.18; for all purposes

$22,474.50; preachers' salaries, $10,201.04.

 

Appointed:

Churchville, A. M. Evers;

West Augusta, N. A. Kiracofe;

Augusta, G. J. Roudabush;

Rockbridge, M. A. Salt;

Dayton station, C. M. Hott;

Dayton, J. W. Funk;

Lacey Spring, A. Hoover;

Madison mission, A. M. Horn;

Port Republic and Luray, H. Jones;

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 281

 

 

East Rockingham mission, J. W. Maiden;

Edinburg, J. W. Hicks;

Winchester, J. E. Widmeyer;

Nelson mission, to be supplied;

Rockingham Freedmen's mission, to be supplied;

Augusta Freedmen's mission, to be supplied;

Boonsboro, J. L. Grimm;

Keedysville station, M. F. Keiter;

Hagerstown. J. Ruebush;

Hagerstown station, E. Ludwick;

Myersville, C. H. Crowell;

Mechanicstown, W. O. Grimm;

Frederick station, C. W. Stinespring;

Opequon, J. W. Kiracofe;

Martinsburg station, I. M. Underwood;

Berkeley mission, C. W. Hutsler;

Clarke mission, J. M. Hott;

New Haven mission, J. A. Negley;

Winchester station, J. W. Ridenour;

Bloomery, J. M. Rodruck;

Berkeley Springs, J. W. Howe;

Moorefield mission, W. Hesse;

Franklin circuit, W. H. Sampsell;

North Fork, J. M. Bolton;

South Branch, W. R. Berry;

New Creek, S. K. Wine;

Alleghany, W. H. Clary;

Garrett, J. G. Ketterman;

bishop East District, J. J. Glossbrenner;

editor Telescope, J. W. Hott;

missionary to Africa, J. A. Evans.

 

1882

 

Conference at Dayton, Va., March 8.

John Dickson, Jacob J. Glossbrenner, bishops; A. P. Funkhouser,

J. R. Ridenour, secretaries.

 

Present: J. J. Glossbrenner, A. M. Evers, J. W. Hott, W. H.

Burtner, A. P. Funkhouser, C. I. B. Brane, J. W. Ridenour. J. N.

Fries, A. Hoover, G. Harman. J. M. Hott. J. E. Widmeyer, W. R.

Berry, S. H. Snell, J. G. Ketterman, W. L. Martin, W. O. Fries, P. J.

Lawrence. J. S. Grimm, J. W. Howe. J. W. Kiracofe, D. D. Keedy,

J. W. Funk, M. F. Keiter, J. F. Hott. C. W. Stinespring. G. J. Rouda-

bush, W. Lutz. J. E. Hott, C. W. Hutsler, J. H. Parlett, M. A. Salt,

A. M. Horn. W. H. Sampsell, J. M. Bolton. J. A. Negley, W. J. Miller,

J. K. Nelson. W. O. Grimm, J. Zarman, C. M. Hott, H. Jones, J. D.

Freed, I. T. Parlett. G. Huffman. J. D. Donovan, S. K. Wine, C. H.

Crowell, E. Ludwick, W. Hesse, J. W. Hicks, C. P. Dyche, L. O.

Burtner, W. H. Clary — 55.

 

Absent: D. Barnhart. J. S. Grimm, G. W. Howe, B. F. Cronise,

G. P. Hott, M. L. Mayselles, J. A. Evans, I. T. Hott, C. Miller, J. W.

Nihiser, S. Scott, I. M. Underwood, J. M. Rodruck, P. H. Thomas,

J. Ruebush, G. W. Rexrode, Z. Umstot, J. Zahn— 18.

 

Visiting ministers: Pres. D. D. DeLong, G. H. Snapp, J. X.

Quigley, W. J. Zuck.

 

Licentiates: L. O. Burtner, P. J. Lawrence.

 

Transferred: I. T. Hott.

 

Collection for needy preachers, $50.01.

 

Preachers Aid Fund, $1,732.84.

 

Died: John Ruebush, John Zahn, William R. Coursey. Memorial

services for each.

 

Ordained: C. H. Crowell.

 


 

282 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Presiding elders: J. W. Funk, (Shen. Dist.), J. W. Howe, (Poto-

mac Dist.), J. K. Nelson, (South Branch Dist.).

 

Appointments, 269; organized churches, 198: members received,

1,088: at end of year, 8,554; Telescopes, 761; meeting houses, 115;

Parsonages, 10; value of meeting houses, $118,751; of parsonages,

$8,750; Sunday Schools. 169; teachers and officers, 1,386; scholars,

8,680; collected for missions, $1,173.13; for all purposes, $22,776.42;

preachers' salaries, $9,340.43.

 

Appointed:

Churchville station, C. W. Stinespring;

Augusta, G. J. Roudabush;

West Augusta, J. M. Bolton;

Rockbridge, M. A. Salt;

Dayton station, G. P. Hott;

Dayton, J. E. Hott;

Lacey Spring, A. Hoover;

Elkton, W. H. Sampsell;

South River mission, N. A. Kiracofe;

Madison mission, N. F. A. Cupp;

Edinburg, J. W. Hicks;

Toms Brook, S. H. Snell;

Winchester mission, J. E. Widmeyer;

Front Royal mission, H. Jones;

Rockingham Freedmen's mission, to be

supplied;

Augusta Freedmen's mission, to be supplied;

Boonsboro, C. M. Hott;

Keedysville, M. F. Keiter;

Myersville, C. H. Crowell;

Hagerstown. I. M. Underwood;

Hagerstown station, E. Ludwick;

Frederick, J. D. Freed;

Frederick mission, A. M. Evers;

Williamsport station, J. W. Kiracofe;

Martinsburg station, J. D. Donovan;

Berkeley mission, C. W. Hutsler;

New Haven mission, J. A. Negley;

Vanclevesville, W. B. Evers;

Winchester station, C. P. Dyche;

Clarke mission, W. L. Martin;

Berkeley Springs, J. R. Ridenour;

Bloomery, J. M. Hott;

North River mission, to be supplied;

Moorfield mission, W. Hesse;

Franklin, A. M. Horn;

North Fork, to be supplied;

South Branch, S. K. Wine;

New Creek, J. M. Rodruck;

Alleghany, W. H. Clary;

Garrett, J. G. Ketterman;

bishop Ohio District, J. J. Glossbrenner;

editor Telescope, J. W. Hott;

agent Lebanon Valley College, D. D. Keedy;

agent U. B. Seminary, W. O. Grimm;

agent Conference Institution of Learning, A. P. Funkhouser.

 

1883

 

Conference at Hagerstown, Md., March 7.

John Dickson, bishop; A. P. Funkhouser, J. R. Ridenour, secretaries.

 

Present: D. Barnhart. W. H. Burtner, C. H. Crowell, C. P. Dyche

J. W. Funk, J. S. Grimm, W. Hesse, A. M. Horn, J. E. Hott, H. Jones,

J. G. Ketterman, P. J. Lawrence, J. A. Negley, J. R. Ridenour G.

W. Rexrode, S. H. Snell, I. M. Underwood, J. Zarman, W. R. Berry

W. H. Clary, Albert Day, A. M. Evers, A. P. Funkhouser, W. O.

Grimm, J. W. Hicks, C. M. Hott, J. W. Hott, J. W. Howe, D. D. Keedy,

J. W. Kiracofe, W. L. Martin, J. K. Nelson, J. M. Rodruck, M. A.

Salt, C. W. Stinespring, J. E. Widmeyer, C. I. B. Brane, B. F.

Cronise, J. D. Donovan, J. N. Fries. J. J. Glossbrenner, J. Harp, A.

Hoover, G. P. Hott, J. M. Hott, C. W. Hutsler, M. F. Keiter E.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 283

 

Ludwick, M. L. Mayselles, J. H. Parlett, G. J. Roudabush, W. H.

Sampsell, P. H. Thomas, S. K. Wine — 55.

 

Absent: J. M. Bolton, J. D. Freed, G. W. Howe, C. Miller, J. W.

Miller, J. W. Nihiser, Z. Umstot, L. O. Burtner, W. O. Fries. G.

Huffman, J. W. Miller, I. T. Parlett, J. A. Evans, G. Harman, W.

Lutz, J. W. Miller, S. Scott — 15.

 

Visiting ministers: E. P. Funk. J. B. Funk, J. L. Grimm, J. X.

Quigley, J. W. Grimm, J. K. Billhimer, C. T. Steam, J. W. Miller,

B. G. Huber, W. A. Dickson, C. A. Burtner, C. W. Bingham, Mrs.

L. R. Keister.

 

Committee in Albin will case: J. W. Howe, J. W. Funk. H. Jones.

 

Licentiate: Albert Day.

 

Ordained: A. M. Horn, S. H. Snell, J. M. Hott, M. A. Salt. W.

Hesse, G. P. Hott.

 

Transferred: D. Barnhart, C. W. Hutsler, W. O. Grimm.

 

Preachers Aid Fund, $1,895.44.

 

J. J. Glossbrenner, A. P. Funkhouser, J. W. Funk, committee

on the troubles at Rohrersville, growing out of the administra-

tion of the secrecy law by M. F. Keiter, accepted as satisfactory

by both parties, and adopted by conference.

 

Presiding elders: J. W. Howe, (Potomac Dist.), J. W. Funk,

(Shen. Dist.), J. K. Nelson, (South Branch Dist.).

 

Appointments, 230; organized churches, 196; members received,

1,062; at end of year 8,867; Telescopes, 817; meeting houses, 117;

value, $114,649; parsonages, 10; value, $11,345; Sunday Schools,

154; teachers and officers, 1,283; scholars, 7,975; collected for mis-

sions, $1,248.10; for all purposes, $28,190.66; salaries of preachers,

$12,107.73.

 

Appointed:

Boonsboro, C. M. Hott;

Keedysville station, J. R. Ridenour;

Hagerstown, I. M. Underwood;

Hagerstown station, S. H. Snell;

Myersville, C. H. Crowell;

Mechanicstown, W. R. Berry;

Frederick, J. D. Freed;

Frederick station, A. M. Evers;

Potomac, J. W. Kiracofe;

Martinsburg station, M. F. Keiter;

Clarke mission, W. L. Martin;

Vanclevesville, W. B. Evers;

Churchville. C. W. Stinespring;

Augusta, A. P. Funkhouser;

Rockbridge, L. O. Burtner;

Dayton, J. E. Hott;

Dayton station, G. P. Hott;

Lacey Spring, A. Hoover;

Elkton, G. J. Roudabush;

Madison, N. F. A. Cupp;

South River mission, N. A. Kiracofe;

Edinburg, J. W. Hicks, and one to be supplied;

Winchester mission, J. E. Widmeyer;

Front Royal, M. A. Salt;

Winchester station, C. P. Dyche;

Bloomery circuit and North River mission, J. M. Hott, P. J. Lawrence;

Berkeley Springs, E. Ludwick;

Lost River mission, J. G. Ketterman;

Franklin circuit and North Fork mission, A. M. Horn and one to be supplied;

South Branch, W. H. Sampsell;

New Creek, J. M. Rodruck;

Alleghany, W. Hess;

Elk Garden mission, W. H. Clary;

Garrett mission, E. A. Pugh;

Berkeley mission, J. A. Negley;

 


 

284 UNITED BRETHREN

 

bishop Ohio District, J. J. Glossbrenner;

editor Telescope, J. W. Hott;

evangelist at large, J. D. Donovan.

 

1884

 

Conference at Lacey Spring, Va., March 5.

John Dickson, bishop; A. P. Funkhouser, G. P. Hott, secretaries.

 

Present: W. R. Berry, L. O. Burtner, A. Day, J. N. Fries, A. P.

Funkhouser, G. Harman, J. W. Hicks, J. E. Hott, J. W. Howe, M. F.

Keiter, P. J. Lawrence, W. J. Miller, I. T. Parlett, G. J. Roudabush,

W. H. Sampsell, I. M. Underwood, C. I. B. Brane, W. H. Clary, C. P.

Dyche, J. D. Freed, J. J. Glossbrenner, J. Harp, A. M. Horn, J. W.

Hott, H. Jones, J. G. Ketterman, W. L. Martin, J. K. Nelson, J. R.

Ridenour, G. W. Rexrode, S. H. Snell, S. K. Wine, W. H. Burtner,

C. H. Crowell, A. M. Evers, J. W. Funk, J. S. Grimm, W. Hesse,

C. M. Hott, G. P. Hott, D. D. Keedy, J. W. Kiracofe, M. L. May-

selles, J. H. Parlett, J. M. Rodruck, M. A. Salt, C. W. Stinespring,

J. Zarman — 49.

 

Absent: J. M. Bolton, J. A. Evans. J. F. Hott, E. Ludwick, J. A.

Negley. P. H. Thomas, B. F. Cronise, W. O. Fries, G. W. Howe,

W. Lutz, J. W. Nihiser, J. D. Donovan, A. Hoover, G. Huffman, C.

Miller, S. Scott — 17.

 

Visiting ministers: D. K. Flickinger, J. Dickson, J. X. Quigley,

G. H. Snapp, D. D. DeLong.

 

Died: Zimri Umstot, aged about 43; Joseph E. Widmeyer, aged 26.

 

Voted to purchase Shenandoah Seminary. Trustees and agent chosen.

 

Ordained: W. L. Martin.

 

Preachers' Aid Fund, $2,109.07.

 

Resolutions adopted relative to Senator G. B. Keezell's letter to

the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

 

Appointments, 221; organized churches, 188; members received,

1,045; at end of year, 8,975; Telescopes, 850; meeting houses, 116

value, $122,374; parsonage, 11, value, $12,055; Sunday Schools, 152

teachers and officers, 1,324; scholars, 8,226; collected for missions

$1,295.28; for all purposes, $29,209.48; salaries of preachers, $16,903.81.

 

Presiding elders: J. W. Howe (Shen. Dist.), C. M. Hott, (Poto-

mac Dist.), J. K. Nelson, (South Branch Dist.).

 

Appointed:

Churchville, J. W. Hicks;

Augusta, S. K. Wine;

Rockbridge, A. S. Castle;

Dayton station, G. P. Hott;

Dayton, G. J. Roudabush;

Lacey Spring, J. W. Funk;

Elkton, J. M. Hott;

Madison, to be supplied;

South River mission, N. A. Kiracofe;

Edinburg, J. E. Hott, and one to be supplied;

Winchester mission, A. M. Horn;

Front Royal mission, to be supplied;

Singers Glen, N. F. A. Cupp;

Freedmen's mission, T. K. Clifford;

Boonsboro, C. H. Crowell;

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 285

 

Keedysville, J. R. Ridenour;

Hagerstown, W. R. Berry;

Hagerstown station, W. O. Fries;

Myersville, I. M. Underwood;

Mechanicstown, W. L. Martin;

Frederick, S. H. Snell;

Frederick station, A. M. Evers;

Potomac, J. W. Kiracofe;

Martinsburg station, M. F. Keiter;

Clarke mission, J. H. Parlett;

Fauquier mission, to be supplied by P. E.;

Winchester station, C. P. Dyche;

Bloomery, P. J. Lawrence;

North River mission, to be supplied;

Berkeley Springs, J. D. Donovan;

Lost River mission, J. G. Ketterman;

Franklin, W. S. Rau;

North Fork mission, A. Day;

South Branch, J. M. Rodruck;

New Creek, W. H. Sampsell;

Alleghany, W. Hesse;

Elk Garden mission, W. H. Clary;

Garrett mission, E. A. Pugh;

Berkeley mission, J. A. Negley;

bishop Ohio District, J. J. Glossbrenner;

editor Telescope, J. W. Hott;

agent Lebanon Valley College, D. D. Keedy;

principal Shenandoah Seminary, J. N. Fries;

missionary to west coast Africa, J. A. Evans;

agent for Conference school, Henry Jones.

 

1885

 

Conference at Frederick, Md., March 5.

John Dickson, bishop; A. P. Funkhouser, G. P. Hott, secretaries.

 

Present: W. R. Berry, W. H. Clary, C. P. Dyche, J. D. Freed,

J. J. Glossbrenner, J. W. Hicks, G. P. Hott, J. W. Howe, J. W. Kira-

cofe, W. L. Martin, J. K. Nelson, J. M. Roderick, W. H. Sampsell,

C. I. B. Brane, C. H. Crowell, A. M. Horn, J. W. Funk, J. H. Rau,

J. E. Hott, H. Jones, M. L. Mayselles, J. H. Parlett, G. J. Roudabush,

S. H. Snell, L. O. Burtner, A. Day, J. N. Fries, A. P. Funkhouser,

W. Hesse, C. M. Hott, J. W. Hott, D. D. Keedy, P. J. Lawrence,

W. J. Miller, J. R. Ridenour, M. A. Salt, C. W. Stinespring, I. M.

Underwood, W. O. Fries, W. S. Rau, J. D. Donovan, J. E. B. Rice,

S. K. Wine, H. H. Fout, S. D. Skelton, A. Hoover, J. Zarman, J. A.

Negley, R. Byrd, E. Ludwick — 53.

 

Absent: J. M. Bolton, G. W. Howe, C. Miller, P. H. Thomas, J. S.

Grimm, B. F. Cronise, G. Huffman, J. W. Nihiser, W. H. Burtner,

G. Harman, J. A. Evans, W. Lutz, S. Scott, M. F. Keiter, G. W.

Rexrode — 15.

 

Visiting ministers: W. J. Shuey, J. X. Quigley, Z. C. Mower,

J. L. Grimm, C. A. Burtner, S. R. Gipple, D. Speck, C. T. Stearn,

D. D. DeLong.

 

Licentiates: R. Byrd, S. D. Skelton, H. H. Fout, J. E. B. Rice,

N. F. A. Cupp, W. S. Rau.

 

Died: Jacob F. Hott, aged 62; J. G. Ketterman, aged 50.

 

Open transfers to C. W. Stinespring, J. D. Freed, E. Ludwick,

M. A. Salt.

 

Ordained: W. O. Fries, C. P. Dyche, W. H. Sampsell, P. J.

Lawrence, W. H. Clary.

 

Collected on Albin fund, $1,628.55.

 


 

286 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Preachers' Aid Fund, $2,073.44.

 

Appointments, 220; organized churches, 191; members received.

983; at end of year, 9,221; Telescopes, 787; meeting houses, 188,

value, $129,690; parsonages, 12, value, $12,224; Sunday Schools,

165; teachers and officers, 1,561; scholars, 9,073; collected for mis-

sions, $1,194.56; for all purposes, $32,516.78; preachers' salaries,

$11,270.15.

 

Presiding elders: C. M. Hott, (Potomac Dist.), C. I. B. Brane,

(Shen. Dist.), J. W. Howe.

 

Appointed:

Boonsboro, C. H. Crowell;

Keedysville station, J. K. Nelson;

Hagerstown, W. R. Berry;

Hagerstown station, W. O. Fries;

Myersville, I. M. Underwood;

Mechanicstown, W. L. Martin;

Frederick, S. H. Snell;

Frederick station, A. M. Evers;

Potomac, H. H. Fout;

Martinsburg station, J. R. Ridenour;

Clarke mission, J. E. B. Rice;

Churchville, S. K. Wine;

Augusta, C. P. Dyche;

Rockbridge, R. Byrd;

Dayton. H. Jones;

Dayton station, J. W. Howe;

Lacey Spring station, J. W. Funk;

Elkton, J. M. Hott;

Madison, J. W. Maiden (by P. E.);

South River mission, J. M. Bolton;

Edinburg, J. E. Hott;

Toms Brook mission, P. J. Lawrence;

Winchester, A. M. Horn;

Front Royal mission, I. T. Parlett;

Singers Glen, N. F. A. Cupp;

Freedmen's mission, T. K. Clifford;

Winchester station, G. P. Hott;

Bloomery. W. Hesse;

Morgan, M. L. Mayselles;

Berkeley mission, J. A. Negley;

Petersburg, to be supplied;

North Fork mission, G. Harman;

Westernport mission, W. H. Clary;

Lost River mission, N. A. Kiracofe;

Franklin, W. S. Rau;

South Branch, J. M. Rodruck;

New Creek, W. H. Sampsell;

Alleghany, A. Day;

Elk Garden, A. S. Castle;

Garrett mission, E. A. Pugh;

Berkeley Springs, J. D. Donovan;

bishop Ohio District, J. J. Glossbrenner;

editor Telescope, J. W. Hott;

agent Shenandoah Institute, J. N. Fries;

missionary in Africa, J. A. Evans.

 

1886

 

Conference at Berkeley Springs, W. Va., March 3.

John Dickson, bishop; G. P. Hott, W. L. Martin, secretaries.

 

Present: W. R. Berry, C. H. Crowell, A. M. Evers, J. J. Gloss-

brenner, A. M. Horn, J. W. Hott, H. Jones, P. J. Lawrence. W. J.

Miller, J. R. Ridenour, W. H. Sampsell, S. K. Wine, J. A. Negley,

J. D. Donovan, J. W. Nihiser, G. W. Rexrode, C. I. B. Brane, A. Day,

J. N. Fries, J. Harp, C. M. Hott, J. E. Hott, D. D. Keedy, W. L.

Martin, J. K. Nelson, J. M. Rodruck, S. H. Snell, W. O. Fries, S. D.

Skelton, J. E. B. Rice, S. Scott, N. A. Kiracofe, N. F. A. Cupp,

W. H. Clary, C. P. Dyche, A. P. Funkhouser, J. W. Hicks, G. P. Hott,

J. W. Howe, J. W. Kiracofe, M. L. Mayselles, I. T. Parlett, G. J.

Roudabush, I. M. Underwood, H. H. Fout, R. Byrd, J. M. Bolton,

M. F. Keiter, A. S. Hammack, G. B. Fadeley — 50.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 287

 

Absent: L. O. Burtner, J. H. Parlett, B. F. Cronise, G. Hoff-

man, P. H. Thomas, G. Harman, J. D. Freed, W. S. Rau, J. A. Evans,

W. Lutz, W. H. Burtner, J. M. Hott, A, Hoover, G. W. Howe, C.

Miller, J. S. Grimm — 16.

 

Visiting ministers: D. R. Miller, Z. Warner, J. P. Miller, L.

W. Stahl.

 

Licentiates: N. A. Kiracofe, G. B. Fadeley, A. S. Castle, A. S.

Hammack, A. N. Horn.

 

Transfers to J. W. Funk, W. Hesse.

 

Preachers' Aid Fund, $2,011.67.

 

Died: Jacob Zarman, aged 71.

 

Ordained: Albert Day, J. M. Bolton.

 

Resolutions adopted against a division of the Conference, as

proposed by the last General Conference.

 

Transfer of G. J. Roudabush returned.

 

Appointments, 216; organized churches, 168; members received,

1,105; at end of year, 9,422; Telescopes, 497; meeting houses, 122;

value, $131,796; parsonages, 13, value, $13,439; Sunday Schools,

163; teachers and officers, 1,423; scholars, 9,189; collected for mis-

sions, $1,003.81; for all purposes, $24,150.74; salaries of ministers,

$10,872.61.

 

Presiding elders: A. M. Evers, (Potomac Dist.), J. W. Howe,

(Shen. Dist.), J. W. Hicks, (South Branch Dist.).

 

Appointed:

Boonsboro, C. M. Hott;

Keedysville station, J. K. Nelson;

Hagerstown, S. H. Snell;

Hagerstown station, C. I. B. Brane;

Myersville, I. M. Underwood;

Mechanicstown, G. J. Roudabush;

Frederick, W. L. Martin;

Frederick station, W. O. Fries;

Potomac, H. H. Fout;

Martinsburg station, J. R. Ridenour;

Berkeley, J. D. Freed;

Vanclevesville, to be supplied;

Churchville, S. K. Wine;

Augusta, C. P. Dyche;

Rockbridge, R. Byrd;

Dayton, H. Jones;

Dayton station, A. P. Funkhouser;

Lacey Spring station, J. D. Donovan;

Elkton, J. M. Hott;

Madison, W. S. Rau;

Cross Keys, W. H. Sampsell;

Edinburg, C. H. Crowell, and one to be supplied;

Winchester, J. E. Hott;

Winchester station, G. P. Hott;

Front Royal mission, J. A. Negley;

Singers Glen, J. E. B. Rice;

Freedmen's mission, T. K. Clifford;

Bloomery, G. B. Fadeley;

Franklin, N. F. A. Cupp;

North Fork mission, S. Scott;

Westernport station, J. M. Bolton;

Lost River mission, N. A. Kiracofe;

South Branch, P. J. Lawrence;

New Creek, W. H. Clary;

Lonaconing, N. H. Meese;

Deer Park mission, A. Day;

Elk Garden, S. A. Castle;

Garrett, E. A. Pugh;

Berkeley Springs, W. R. Berry;

bishop emeritus, J. J. Glossbrenner;

editor Telescope, J. W. Hott;

principal Shenandoah Institute, J. N. Fries;

missionary in Africa, J. A. Evans.

 


 

288 UNITED BRETHREN

 

1887

 

Conference at Keedysville, Md., March 2.

Jonathan Weaver, bishop; G. P. Hott, W. L. Martin, secretaries.

 

Visiting ministers: L. W. Stahl, W. McKee, D. R. Miller, J. P.

Miller, _____ Burkholder, J. L. Grimm, C. W. Stinespring, R. Cow-

den, J. X. Quigley, H. C. Deaner, T. F. Bushong, H. A. Schlicter.

 

Licentiates: W. F. Gruver, George M. Gruber, T. K. Clifford.

 

In treasury, $1,763.01.

 

Conference Educational Fund, $469.78.

 

Of the Maryland District, eight out of nine quarterly confer-

ences voted for the establishing of the Maryland Conference,

which was accordingly formed.

 

Ordained: N. F. A. Cupp, S. D. Skelton, J. E. B. Rice, H. H. Fout,

M. L. Mayselles, R. Byrd.

 

Preachers' Aid Fund, $2,009.22.

 

Mission opened in Staunton and pastor appointed.

 

Died: J. J. Glossbrenner.

 

Conference funds divided, except Albin will fund, so as to give

seven-tenths to Virginia, three-tenths to Maryland.

 

Appointments, 213: organized churches, 190; members received,

1,126; at end of year, 9,663; Telescopes, 536; meeting houses, 126,

value, $146,616; parsonages, 12, value, $13,138; collected for mis-

sions, $1,095.56; for all purposes, $24,639.31; ministers' salaries,

$11,018.39.

 

The following members went to the Maryland Conference: J.

M. Bolton, C. I. B. Brane, A. S. Castle, B. F. Cronise, A. M. Evers

H. H. Fout, W. O. Fries, J. S. Grimm, G. M. Gruber, J. Harp, J. W.

Hicks, A. N. Horn, C. M. Hott, D. D. Keedy, N. A. Kiracofe, J. W.

Kiracofe, W. L. Martin. J. K. Nelson, G. J. Roudabush, S. H. Snell,

S. K. Wine — 21.

 

The following went to the Virginia Conference: W. R. Berry,

W. H. Burtner, L. O. Burtner, R. Byrd, W. H. Clary, T. K. Clifford,

C. H. Crowell, N. F. A. Cupp, J. D. Donovan, C. P. Dyche, J. A.

Evans, G. B. Fadeley, J. N. Fries, A. P. Funkhouser, W. F. Gruver,

A. S. Hammack, George Harman, George Huffman, A. Hoover,

A. M. Horn, J. M. Hott, G. P. Hott, J. W. Howe, G. W. Howe, H.

Jones, M. F. Keiter, P. J. Lawrence, William Lutz, M. L. Mayselles,

W. J. Miller, Charles Miller, J. A. Negley, J. W. Nihiser, I. T. Par-

lett, J. H. Parlett, G. W. Rexrode, J. E. B. Rice, J. R. Ridenour,

J. M. Rodruck, W. H. Sampsell, S. Scott, S. D. Skelton, P. H.

Thomas, I. M. Underwood — 46.

 

Presiding elders: C. P. Dyche, (Shen. Dist.), C. H. Crowell,

(Winchester Dist.), A. M. Evers, (Md. Conf.).

 

Appointed (Va.):

Edinburg, I. M. Underwood;

Lacey Spring, J. D. Donovan;

Dayton, R. Byrd;

Dayton station, A. P. Funkhouser;

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 289

 

Augusta, J. M. Hott;

Churchville, J. E. B. Rice;

Rockbridge, S. D. Skelton;

Luray mission, to be supplied;

Madison, G. H. Snapp;

Cross Keys, W. H. Sampsell;

Front Royal, _____ Walters;

Singers Glen, W. F. Gruver;

Elkton, G. B. Fadeley;

Freedmen's mission, T. K. Clifford;

Winchester station, G. P. Hott;

Bloomery, J. M. Rodruck;

Franklin, N. F. A. Cupp;

North Fork, G. W. Rexrode;

Lost River mission, J. A. Negley;

South Branch, W. D. Barger;

New Creek, W. H. Clary;

Berkeley Springs, W. R. Berry;

Vanclevesville, W. B. Evers;

Martinsburg station, J. R. Ridenour;

Berkeley, J. D. Freed;

Winchester, J. E. Hott;

Hartmansville mission, to be supplied;

editor Telescope, J. W. Hott;

principal Shenandoah Institute, J. N. Fries;

missionary in Africa, J. A. Evans.

 

Appointed (Md.):

Alleghany, A. M. Horn;

Locaconing, M. H. Meese;

Westernport station, P. J. Lawrence;

Keedysville station, S. H. Snell;

Boonsboro, C. M. Hott;

Hagerstown, J. K. Nelson;

Hagerstown station, C. I. B. Brane;

Potomac, N. A. Kiracofe;

Myersville, J. W. Hicks;

Mechanicsville, G. J. Roudabush;

Frederick, W. L. Martin;

Frederick station, S. K. Wine;

principal West Virginia Academy, W. O. Fries.

 

1888

 

Conference at Dayton, Va., March 4.

E. B. Kephart, bishop; G. P. Hott, A. P. Funkhouser, secretaries.

 

Visiting ministers: M. O. Lane, J. M. Lesher, D. D. Keedy, E. S.

Lorenz, G. H. Snapp, C. M. Hott, S. K. Wine, C. P. Doyle, Mrs.

L. R. Keister.

 

Licentiates: George W. Stover, W. P. Bazzle.

 

Died: J. M. Rodruck, aged 73.

 

In treasury, $1,842.38.

 

Ministerial Benefit Fund, $1,465.65.

 

Educational Aid Fund, $381.10.

 

Appointments, 159; organized churches, 138; members received,

793; at end of year, 7,818; Telescopes, 280; meeting houses, 100,

value, $82,305; parsonages, 9, value, $7,203; Sunday Schools, 128;

teachers and officers, 973; scholars, 6,972; collected for missions,

$682.11; for all purposes, $17,324.69; preachers' salaries, $6,870.

 

Presiding elders: C. H. Crowell, (Winchester Dist.), C. P.

Dyche, (Shen. Dist.).

 

Appointed:

Hartmansville mission, W. P. Bazzle;

Berkeley, A. M. Horn;

Winchester station, to be supplied;

Frederick, W. H. Sampsell;

Berkeley Springs, W. R. Berry;

South Branch, N. F. A. Cupp;

Martinsburg station, J. R. Ridenour;

Vanclevesville, to be supplied;

New Creek, W. H. Clary;

North Fork, G. W. Rexrode;

Lost River, J. A. Negley;

Franklin, to be supplied;

Bloomery, E. A. Pugh;

Front Royal, L. C. Frederick;

Churchville, J. E. B. Rice;

Lacey Spring, J. D. Donovan;

Edinburg, I. M. Underwood;

 


 

290 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Dayton station, R. Byrd;

Augusta, J. M. Hott;

Staunton station, J. W. Howe;

Elkton, G. B. Fadeley;

Rockbridge, S. D. Skelton;

Cross Keys, J. E. Hott;

Madison mission, G. H. Snapp;

Fauquier mission, to be supplied;

Freedmen's mission, T. K. Clifford.

 

1889

 

Conference at Martinsburg, W. Va., March 6.

Nicholas Castle, bishop; G. P. Hott, A. P. Funkhouser, secretaries.

 

Visiting ministers: B. F. Booth, G. H. Snapp, A. M. Evers, M. O.

Lane, C. I. B. Brane, C. M. Hott.

 

Licentiates: J. C. S. Myers, J. R. Chamberlain, W. O. Ewing,

S. L. Rice, E. A. Pugh.

 

In treasury, $1,717.40.

 

Died: George Huffman, Oct. 22, 1888, aged 82; P. H. Thomas.

Feb. 13, 1889, aged 72.

 

L. O. Burtner transferred to Maryland Conference.

 

Appointments, 159: organized churches, 142; members received,

515: at end of year, 7,159; Telescopes, 301: meeting houses, 101,

value, $84,740; parsonages, 8, value, $6,839.50; Sunday School, 112;

teachers and officers, 840; scholars, 6,488; collected for missions,

$647.66; for all purposes, $16,207.34; preachers' salaries, $6,248.29.

 

Presiding elders: C. H. Crowell, (Winchester Dist.), C. P.

Dyche, (Shen. Dist.).

 

Appointed:

Hartmansville mission, E. A. Pugh;

Berkeley, A. M. Horn;

Berkeley Springs, W. R. Berry;

Winchester station, J. B. Chamberlain;

Frederick, W. H. Sampsell;

South Branch, N. F. A. Cupp;

Martinsburg station, J. R. Ridenour;

Vanclevesville, W. O. Ewing;

New Creek, W. H. Clary;

Lost River, J. A. Negley;

Franklin, W. P. Bazzle;

Bloomery, P. J. Lawrence;

Front Royal, J. W. Walter;

Churchville, J. E. B. Rice;

Lacey Spring, W. F. Gruver;

Edinburg, R. Byrd;

Dayton, I. M. Underwood;

Singers Glen, J. D. Donovan;

Augusta, S. D. Skelton;

Staunton station, J. W. Howe;

Elkton, G. B. Fadeley;

Rockbridge, J. M. Hott;

Cross Keys, S. L. Rice;

Madison mission, J. W. Maiden;

Fauquier mission, to be supplied;

Freedmen's mission, T. K. Clifford.

 

1890

 

Conference at Winchester, Va., March 5.

Jonathan Weaver, bishop; G. P. Hott, W. R. Berry, secretaries.

 

Delegates present: P. C. Tutwiler, Byrd Clapsaddle, D. W.

Brenneman, R. E. Donovan, H. H. Hanger, C. W. Jones, Thomas

Hancher, J. G. Kitchen, R. F. Long, J. Taylor, D. O. Fout — 11.

 

Visiting ministers: John Hill, J. W. Kiracofe, J. K. Nelson, L. O.

Burtner, G. W. Statton, S. H. Snell, C. W. Stinespring, D. D. Keedy.

 

In treasury, $1,702.92.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 291

 

Preachers' Aid Fund, $1,365.46.

 

Educational Aid Fund, $345.75.

 

Licentiates: J. F. Snyder, R. L. Dorsey, J. E. Fout.

 

Ordained: A. S. Hammack, T. K. Clifford.

 

Died: Henry Jones, Aug. 23, 1889, aged 52; George W. Howe,

Mar. 19, 1889, aged 57.

 

Appointments, 149; organized churches, 136; members received,

595; at end of year, 7,309; Sunday Schools, 129; teachers and

officers, 993; scholars, 7,516; churches, 101: value, $81,866: par-

sonages, 8, value, $5,691; collected for missions, $579.52; for all

purposes, $15,131.63; preachers' salaries, $7,668.32.

 

Presiding elders: C. P. Dyche, (Shen. Dist.), C. H. Crowell,

(Winchester Dist.).

 

Appointed:

Rockbridge. J. M. Hott;

Staunton mission station, J. D. Donovan;

Augusta, S. D. Skelton;

North Fork, N. A. Kiracofe;

Franklin, J. E. Fout;

Singers Glen, J. E. Hott;

Churchville, G. W. Statton;

Lacey Spring, G. B. Fadeley;

Edinburg, W. R. Berry;

Dayton, I. M. Underwood;

Elkton, W. F. Gruver;

Madison mission, J. W. Maiden;

Cross Keys, S. L. Rice;

Freedmen's mission, T. K. Clifford;

Toms Brook, R. Byrd;

Front Royal, J. W. Walter;

Hartmansville mission, E. A. Pugh;

Winchester, J. R. Chamberlain;

Frederick, W. H. Sampsell;

Berkeley Springs, J. E. B. Rice;

South Branch, N. F. A. Cupp;

Martinsburg station, J. R. Ridenour:

Vanclevesville, W. O. Ewing;

Lost River, J. F. Snyder;

New Creek, W. J. Miller;

Bloomery, P. J. Lawrence;

Moorefield, W. P. Bazzle.

 

1891

 

Conference at Churchville, Va., March 4.

John Dickson, bishop; G. P. Hott, W. R. Berry, secretaries.

 

Visiting ministers: G. W. Statton, G. H. Snapp, J. W. Ingle, B.

F. Booth, C. I. B. Brane, W. J. Shuey, A. M. Horn, N. A. Kiracofe.

 

Open transfer to W. J. Miller.

 

Licentiates: E. W. McMullen, B. P. S. Busey.

 

M. F. Keiter, I. T. Parlett, J. H. Parlett marked "irregularly

withdrawn," having joined the radical wing.

 

Ordained: J. R. Chamberlain.

 

In treasury, $1,750.87.

 

Preachers' Aid Fund, $1,531.73.

 

Educational Aid Fund, $345.73.

 

Special collection ordered taken in all the Sunday schools for

the benefit of the church now building in Washington, D. C.

 

Appointments, 161; organized churches, 148; members received,

800; at end of year, 7,61; Telescopes, 213; meeting houses, 102,

value, $86,955; parsonages, 9, value, $7,381; Sunday Schools, 126;

teachers and officers, 1,002; scholars, 7,646; collected for missions,

$704.31; for all purposes, $17,042.48; preachers' salaries, $7,737.55.

 


 

292 UNITED BRETHREN

 

1892

 

Conference at Berkeley Springs, W. Va., March 2.

E. B. Kephart, bishop; G. P. Hott, J. B. Chamberlain, secretaries.

 

Visiting ministers: William McKee, M. L. Mayselles, N. A.

Kiracofe.

 

Licentiate: J. W. Maiden.

 

Mission work begun in Shenandoah in June, 1891, by S. K. Wine.

 

Mission opened in Roanoke, May, 1891, by J. E. Pout, a student,

A. P. Funkhouser guaranteeing him $100 for his work in summer

vacation. J. W. Howe served the mission after Mr. Fout returned

to the seminary. Special collection ordered by vote of Conference

for this mission, and $255 subscribed on the floor.

 

Ordained: S. L. Rice, W. O. Ewing, J. F. Snyder.

 

In treasury, $1,669.67.

 

Educational Aid Fund, $345.73.

 

Ministerial Benefit fund, $1,597.72.

 

Appointments, 161; organized churches, 147; Sunday Schools,

137; teachers and officers, 1,003; scholars, 7,819; members received,

832; at end of year, 7,819; Telescopes, 251; meeting houses, 104,

value, $89,150; parsonages, 12, value, $7,640; collected for mis-

sions, $841.90; for all purposes, $16,046.71; preachers' salaries,

$8,889.24.

 

1893

 

Conference at Hawkinstown, Va., March 1.

Nicholas Castle, bishop; G. P. Hott, J. B. Chamberlain, secretaries.

 

Visiting ministers: I. L. Kephart, A. M. Evers, W. O. Fries,

Pres. E. B. Bierman.

 

Licentiate: J. W. Walter.

 

Transferred: I. M. Underwood.

 

Died: Charles Miller, Mar. 9, 1892, aged 67; J. W. Nihiser, Feb.

1893, aged 66.

 

Virginia Conference, Young People's Christian Union, organized.

 

In treasury, $1,950.03.

 

Appointments, 161; organized churches, 138; members received,

897; at end of year, 8,076; Telescopes, 263; Sunday Schools, 122;

teachers and officers, 931; scholars, 7,153; meeting houses, 104,

value, $90,707; parsonages, 14, value, $10,049; collected for mis-

sions, $787; for all purposes, $21,589.08; preachers' salaries.

$9,340.15.

 

1894

 

Conference at Staunton, Va., February 28.

E. P. Kephart, bishop; G. P. Hott, W. R. Berry, secretaries.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 293

 

Visiting ministers: W. J. Shuey, W. M. Bell, C. I. B. Brane, J. P.

Anthony, L. Rexrode.

 

Licentiates: S. R. Ludwig, O. W. Burtner, G. W. Stover, S. D.

Dawson, J. W. Brill.

 

Received as elder from Methodist Protestant Church, W. L.

Childress.

 

R. L. Dorsey dismissed and name stricken from roll.

 

Transferred: J. E. Fout.

 

J. W. Howe presented a life-sized portrait of himself by mem-

bers of the Conference and friends. Presentation by bishop.

 

In treasury, $2,859.87, of which $1,500 is for benefit of Lacey

Spring.

 

Preachers' Aid Fund, $1,644.98, to which is added in per-

manency, $100 donated by J. W. Howe.

 

Appointments, 156; organized churches, 146; members received,

1,572; at end of year, 8,597; Sunday Schools, 132; teachers and

officers, 1,039; scholars, 7,426; meeting houses, 107, value, $101.960;

parsonages, 16, value, $12,697; Telescopes, 377; collected for mis-

sions, $878.81; for all purposes, $22,451.33; salaries of preachers,

$9,7330.65.

 

1895

 

Conference at Martinsburg, W. Va., March 20.

J. S. Mills, bishop; G. P. Hott, W. R. Berry, secretaries.

 

Visiting ministers: W. M. Bell, A. M. Elvers, W. L. Mayselles,

G. H. Snapp, J. W. Kiracofe, G. W. Kiracofe, C. W. Stinespring, A.

N. Horn, J. Dickson, G. J. Roudabush, I. L. Kephart, J. T. Spangler.

 

Licentiates: S. A. Crabill, W. O. Jones, W. H. Bruce, C. D. Ben-

nett, H. E. Richardson, A. J. Secrist.

 

In treasury, $3,136.

 

Educational Fund, $412.80.

 

Preachers' Aid Fund, $1,938.45.

 

Ordained: B. P. S. Busey, W. P. Bazzle.

 

Resolution adopted inviting Maryland Conference to reunite

with the Virginia Conference.

 

Appointments, 181; organized churches, 164; members received,

1,351; at end of year, 9,282; Sunday Schools, 137; teachers and

officers, 1,046; scholars, 8,014; meeting houses, 109, value, $100,765:

parsonages, 16, value, $12,791; Telescopes, 460; collected for mis-

sions, $1,127.21; for all purposes, $23,106.32; preachers salaries,

$10,202.91.

 

1896

 

Conference at Broadway, Va., March 18.

Nicholas Castle, bishop; G. P. Hott, W. R. Berry, secretaries.

 

Visiting ministers: M. R. Drury, W. M. Weekley, G. H. Snapp,

 


 

294 UNITED BRETHREN

 

W. L. Martin, G. J. Roudabush, J. B. Chamberlain, H. H. Fout,

S. H. Snell, H. B. Dohmer.

 

Received: S. K. Wine.

 

Ordained: G. W. Stover, J. W. Maiden.

 

E. S. Tabler, B. F. Gruver, E. M. Baker, J. W. Keiter, C. M.

Strickler, J. A. Noon nominated as candidates to be voted for as

lay delegates to next General Conference.

 

In treasury, $3,233.86.

 

Mutual Benefit Fund, $1,848.54.

 

Educational Aid Fund, $419,54.

 

Appointments, 184; organized churches, 168; members received,

1,270; at end of year, 9,652; Sunday Schools, 145; scholars, 8,180;

meeting houses, 118, value, $111,471; parsonages, 14, value, $11,706;

Telescopes, 485; collected for missions, $1,099.55; for all purposes,

$24,593.52; preachers' salaries, $10,563.47.

 

1897

 

Conference at Roanoke, Va., March 17.

J. W. Hott, bishop; G. P. Hott, W. R. Berry, W. O. Ewing, secretaries.

 

Visiting ministers: W. M. Bell, S. W. Paul, H. B. Dohmer, E. V.

Hoenshel.

 

Licentiates: L. A. Racey, J. H. Brunk, J. W. Stearn, George M.

Jones, W. A. Black, Lau Seng Nam (of Canton, China).

 

Transferred: J. E. B. Rice.

 

Raised on Conference floor for church just built in Johnson

City, Tenn., $80.

 

In treasury, $3,250.

 

Ministerial Benefit Fund, $1,820.20.

 

Educational Aid Fund, $433.69.

 

Appointments, 185; organized churches, 165; members received,

1,089; at end of year, 9,859; Sunday Schools, 150; teachers and

officers, 1,099; scholars, 8,859; Telescopes, 446; meeting houses,

118; value, $108,490; parsonages, 17, value, $12,300; collected for

missions, $1,163.18; for all purposes, $25,890.12; salaries of preach-

ers, $11,100.80.

 

1898

 

Conference at Toms Brook, Va., March 16.

E. B. Kephart, bishop; G. P. Hott, W. F. Gruver, W. R. Berry, secretaries.

 

Visiting ministers: G. H. Snapp, L. Walter Lutz, W. R. Funk,

H. B. Dohmer, S. W. Paul, A. B. Statton, R. Byrd, C. W. Brewbaker,

H. H. Fout, N. W. Burtner, J. E. Fout, H. U. Roop, Dr. T. C. Carter.

 

Licentiates: L. O. Bricker, A. P. Walton, T. J. Feaster, A. R.

Hendrickson.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 295

 

Ordained: A. J. Secrist, C. D. Bennett, H. K. Richardson, S. A.

Crabill.

 

Ordination of G. K. Little, evangelist, was by request of Pennsyl-

vania Conference arranged to occur in August at Assembly Park.

 

Recommended that every charge in the Conference raise a per-

manent fund of one dollar per member, on an average, for Shen-

andoah Institute.

 

In treasury, $3,274.55.

 

Educational Aid Fund, $433.69.

 

Preachers' Aid Fund, $1,945.18.

 

Appointments, 180; organized churches, 154; members received,

1.430; at end of year, 10,978; Sunday Schools, 134; scholars, 8,343;

Telescopes, 587; meeting houses, 116, value, $113,404: parsonages,

17, value, $14,067; collected for missions, $1,143.41; for all pur-

poses, $27,568.83; preachers' salaries, $14.277.20.

 

1899

 

Conference at Winchester, Va., March 15.

E. B. Kephart, bishop; G. P. Hott, W. R. Berry, A. S. Hammack.

secretaries.

 

Visiting ministers: W. M. Weekley. T. C. Carter, M. L. May-

selles, A. N. Horn, W. R. Funk, J. C. Gardner, L. O. Burtner. J. B.

Chamberlain, E. U. Hoenshel, E. G. Spessard, A. M. Evers, H. U.

Roop, J. E. B. Rice.

 

Received: L. W. Lutz.

 

Transferred: E. A. Pugh.

 

Ordained: A. P. Walton.

 

Died: W. O. Ewing, Oct. 18, 1898, aged 32; George W. Rexrode.

Mar. 25, 1898, aged 77.

 

G. P. Hott and A. P. Funkhouser a committee to visit Newport

News "and examine the outlook for establishing a church in that

city in the near future."

 

Appointments, 185; organized churches, 158; members received,

1,285; at end of year, 10,383; Sunday schools, 137; teachers and

officers, 1,210; scholars, 8,680; Telescopes, 558; meeting houses,

124, value, $121,186; parsonage, 19, value, $16,396; collected for

missions, $1,013.51; for all purposes, $28,268.23; salaries of preach-

ers, $13,545.76; active itinerants, 33; supernumerary, 3; super-

annuated, 2; employed local preachers, 6; unemployed local

preachers, 8.

 

1900

 

Conference at Harrisonburg, Va., March 21-26.

J. W. Hott, bishop; G. P. Hott, secretary.

 

Present, 48 ministers; absent, 10; delegates present, 24.

 

Visiting ministers: J. B. Chamberlain, J. C. Gardner, A. N.

 


 

296 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Horn, C. W. Hutsler, W. M. Bell, A. W. Lane, J. E. Hott, A. M.

Evers. L. O. Burtner, C. W. Stinespring, J. L. Grimm, G. H. Snapp,

W. M. Weekley, E. U. Hoenshel.

 

Ordained: J. C. S. Myers, L. O. Bricker, J. W. Walter. J. H.

Brunk, W. A. Black, L. W. Lutz, L. A. Racey.

 

B. P. S. Busey transferred to Rock River Conference.

 

T. C. Carter received from East Tennessee Conference.

 

Henry Tallhelm chosen elder.

 

Presiding elders: G. P. Hott, J. D. Donovan.

 

Elected to itinerancy: L. O. Bricker, A. P. Walton.

 

A. P. Walton elected Sunday School Secretary and Treasurer.

 

Died: E. A. Pugh.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) W. O. Jones, George M. Jones, O. W.

Burtner, A. R. Hendrickson, C. M. Good, Ida M. Judy, T. C. Harper,

E. A. Stanton, W. S. Rau; (2d year) J. W. Stearn, G. A. Newman;

(3rd year) J. C. S. Myers. J. W. Brill, W. A. Black, E. W. McMullen,

J. W. Walter, T. J. Feaster.

 

The report on boundaries recommended that there be two pre-

siding elder districts; that Berkeley circuit be called Jones Spring

circuit; that Galena and Arbor Hill be added to Rockbridge circuit;

that Cross Keys circuit be re-named Pleasant Valley circuit; that

Edinburg circuit be attached to Winchester district.

 

A resolution adopted condemning the liquor trade in new pos-

sessions of the United States.

 

Interesting reports on missions, education, and the publishing

interests of the church.

 

1901

 

Conference at Churchville, Va., March 13-17.

E. B. Kephart, bishop; G. P. Hott, secretary.

 

Advisory seats given to W. B. Keeley, W. S. Campbell, Dr. W.

R. Funk.

 

Reporter: A. P. Funkhouser.

 

Next General Conference asked to define the boundary of this

Conference so as to include in it all of Alleghany county (Md.),

and all of Garrett east of the Alleghany Divide.

 

W. F. Gruver, A. P. Funkhouser appointed delegates to the

Anti-Saloon League meeting at Washington, D. C., in December.

 

Ordered that Mt. Pleasant be detached from Winchester circuit

and added to Inwood circuit; that Red Bud be detached from

Inwood and added to Winchester; that Claysville be attached to

New Creek circuit; that Virginia Mission district be divided into

Staunton and Linville circuits.

 

W. L. Childress, H. E. Richardson transferred to Maryland

Conference; Dr. T. C. Carter granted an open transfer.

 

Itinerants: T. J. Feaster, E. A. Stanton.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 297

 

Presiding elders: G. P. Hott, J. D. Donovan.

 

To open a mission at Ponce, Porto Rico, $150 secured.

 

Died: A. Hoover.

 

Ordained: J. W. Brill, T. J. Feaster, Ida M. Judy.

 

Constitutional Convention petitioned to allow a vote on the

liquor question as an addendum to the State Constitution of

Virginia.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) W. O. Jones, G. M. Jones, O. W. Burtner,

A. R. Hendrickson, C. M. Good, T. C. Harper, W. S. Rau, J. B.

Ferguson, J. W. Stearn; (2d year) G. A. Newman, Ida M. Judy, E.

A. Stanton; (3d year) J. C. S. Myers, J. W. Brill, E. W. McMullen,

J. W. Walter, L. O. Bricker.

 

Sunday School Secretary and Treasurer, A. P. Walton.

 

Secretary Historical Society, N. F. A. Cupp.

 

Trustees Lebanon Valley College: S. D. Skelton, S. K. Wine,

H. B. Miller.

 

Trustees Shenandoah Institute: J. C. S. Myers, G. B. Fadeley,

A. P. Funkhouser.

 

Conference Mission Secretary: W. R. Berry.

 

Ministers present, 43; absent, 18; delegates, 19.

 

Leading reports: Temperance, missions, education, Sunday

Schools, young people's societies.

 

1902

 

Conference met at Lacey Spring, March 12-16.

J. S. Mills, bishop; G. P. Hott, secretary.

 

Reporters: A. P. Funkhouser, J. O. Long.

 

Advisory seats given to H. H. Fout, E. U. Hoenshel, J. G.

Roudabush.

 

O. W. Burtner transferred to Pennsylvania Conference.

 

Ordained: W. O. Jones, A. R. Hendrickson.

 

Ordered that Shendun and Belvidere be detached from Augusta

circuit to form Basic City circuit; that Camp Hill be detached

from Capon circuit to form nucleus of a new charge; that a mis-

sion be established in Cumberland, Md.

 

S. E. Boyd, of Methodist Episcopal Church, South, received as

ordained elder.

 

Missionary Treasurer: W. R. Berry.

 

Treasurer Conference Educational Society: J. N. Fries.

 

Sunday School Secretary and Treasurer: J. H. Brunk.

 

Presiding elders: J. D. Donovan, A. S. Hammack.

 

Died: Snowden Scott.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) C. M. Good, T. C. Harper, J. W. Stearn,

W. D. Good, George Burgess; (2d year) G. A. Newman, W. S. Rau,

J. B. Ferguson, G. M. Jones; (3d year) J. C. S. Myers, J. W. Brill,

 


 

298 UNITED BRETHREN

 

 

E. W. McMullen, J. W. Walter, L. O. Bricker, J. W. Stearn, E. A.

Stanton.

 

Ministers present, 39; absent, 18; delegates, 18.

 

Leading report was on Lebanon Valley College.

 

1903

 

Conference at Staunton, Va., March 26-30.

J. S. Mills, bishop; G. P. Hott, secretary.

 

Advisory seats given to J. L. Grimm, S. H. Snell, J. P. Anthony,

A. N. Horn, F. M. Glenn, Dr. W. H. Funk.

 

Reporters: A. P. Funkhouser, W. A. Black.

 

S. G. Wells received from the Methodist Episcopal Church.

 

Ordered that Clay Hill be detached from Rockbridge and added

to Churchville; that Marion Chapel be detached from South

Branch and added to Franklin: that Christiansburg circuit be

authorized.

 

Presiding elders: A. S. Hammack and W. F. Gruver.

 

Itinerants: Lau Seng Nam, J. B. Ferguson, George Burgess,

S. E. Boyd.

 

Died: H. Tallhelm.

 

Ordained: E. A. Stanton.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) C. M. Good, J. L. Argenbright, E. E. Neff,

George Burgess; (2d year) W. S. Rau, G. M. Jones; (3d year) J. B.

Ferguson. J. W. Brill, T. C. Harper, E. W. McMullen, J. W. Walton,

L. O. Bricker. J. W. Stearn.

 

Delegates, 29.

 

Ministers present, 40; absent, 18; local, 10; superannuated, 2.

 

Leading reports were on education and Lebanon Valley College.

 

1904

 

Conference at Martinsburg, W. Va., March 16-21.

J. S. Mills, bishop; G. P. Hott, secretary, S. D. Skelton, reporter.

 

Advisory seats given to J. B. Chamberlain, A. V. Vondersmith,

W. R. Funk, W. A. Dickson, H. U. Roop, A. B. Statton, R. Byrd,

C. C. Gohn, A. N. Horn, D. B. Wagner, W. H. Washinger, H. B.

Spayd, A. M. Evers, G. K. Hartman, E. C. Hoenshel, A. M. Brook.

M. L. Mayselles, C. W. Stinespring.

 

L. W. Lutz transferred to Pennsylvania Conference.

 

Open transfers to A. B. Hendrickson, J. F. Snyder, S. A. Crabill,

L. O. Bricker.

 

Ordered that Judy and Smith Creek be detached from Pendle-

ton and added to Franklin; that Circleville, Riverton, and High

Rock be detached from Pendleton and added to Franklin; that

Thoroughfare be detached from Elkton and added to Shenandoah

City; that Shendun be attached to Pleasant Valley circuit: that

Mt. Bethel be added to Augusta circuit; that Broadway be detached

from Broadway circuit and added to Lacey Spring; that Harrison-

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 299

 

burg (colored) be made a station; that the rest of Staunton and

Linville circuits be called Linville and Staunton Mission: that

Laurel Dale be detached from Bayard and added to New Creek;

that Midland be added to Westernport station; that Horseshoe on

New Creek circuit be discontinued.

 

Presiding elders: W. F. Gruver, A. S. Hammack.

 

Leading report was on Lebanon Valley College.

 

Died: J. W. Howe.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) C. M. Good, J. L. Argenbright, George

Burgess; (2d year) W. D. Good, W. M. Maiden; (3d year) J. W.

Brill, E. W. McMullen, J. W. Walter, W. S. Rau, E. E. Neff; (4th

year) T. C. Harper, J. B. Ferguson, G. A. Newman.

 

Ministers present, 39; absent, 12; local, 16; superannuate. 2;

delegates, 26; unemployed, 19.

 

Ordained: J. W. Stearn.

 

1905

 

Conference at Dayton, Va., March 22-27.

J. S. Mills, bishop; G. P. Hott, secretary.

 

The name of A. G. Wells removed from the roll, he having

joined another church.

 

A. B. Wilson received from Alleghany Conference.

 

Advisory seats to W. O. Jones, W. M. Weekley, E. U. Hoenshel,

A. V. Vondersmith, C. W. Hutsler, S. A. Crabill, W. R. Funk, A. N.

Horn, S. L. Rice, Dr. Roop.

 

Reporters: A. P. Funkhouser, E. A. Stanton.

 

Presiding elders: W. F. Gruver, A. S. Hammack.

 

Ministerial salaries (minimum) fixed at $400 for married

preachers and $300 for single preachers.

 

The marrying of persons who have been divorced, by ministers

of this church, denounced in a strong resolution.

 

Ordained: S. A. Newman.

 

Boards all re-elected.

 

Ordered that Paw Paw be added to Cacapon circuit; that

Excelsior be added to South Branch circuit; that Limestone be

added to Keyser; that Clay Hill be taken from Churchville and

added to Rockbridge; that Stokes be added to Churchville; that

Smith's Chapel be added to Rockbridge circuit; that Christians-

burg be dropped; that the two Roanoke churches be consolidated;

that Roanoke circuit be constituted.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) C. M. Good, J. L. Argenbright, E. U.

Sypolt, C. J. Racey, J. R. Geil, W. M. Maiden; (2d year) W. D. Good;

(3d year) E. W. McMullen, J. W. Walter, W. S. Rau, George Bur-

gess; (4th year) T. C. Harper, J. B. Ferguson, E. E. Neff, J. W.

Brill.

 

Ministers present, 40; colored, 2; delegates, 30.

 


 

300 UNITED BRETHREN

 

1906

 

Conference at Berkeley Springs, W. Va., 21-26.

J. S. Mills, bishop; G. P. Hott, secretary.

 

Reporters: E. A. Stanton, C. D. Bennett.

 

Advisory seats given to S. A. Crabill, J. F. Snyder, A. N. Horn,

W. G. Wagner, J. E. B. Rice, J. F. Smith. Dr. W. R. Funk, H. H.

Fout, C. I. B. Brane, C. W. Snyder, E. B. Plummer, S. S. Hough,

M. L. Mayselles, C. W. Brewbaker, S. H. Snell.

 

Died: J. D. Donovan.

 

Ordained: W. D. Good.

 

Itinerants: J. L. Argenbright, E. E. Neff, W. M. Maiden, C. J.

Racey, L. A. Racey, H. R. Geil, B. N. Sypolt.

 

Presiding elder (one district only): W. F. Gruver.

 

The constitution reported by the Sustentation Board was

adopted.

 

The name Young People's Christian Union was changed to

Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor.

 

W. B. Keeley was transferred to Pennsylvania Conference.

 

Assessments for ministerial aid doubled.

 

Ordered that a mission be opened in South Cumberland; that

Broadway be taken from Lacey Spring and added to Singers Glen;

that Mt. Carmel, Pleasant View, and Cherry Grove be added to

Singers Glen; that Mt. Clinton be taken from Singers Glen and

given to Dayton; that Dayton and Harrisonburg circuit be united;

that the new towns between Blaine and Bayard on the W. V. C.

Railroad be added to Bayard circuit; that the presiding elder be

paid $1,000 and parsonage rent.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) J. L. Argenbright, B. N. Sypolt, C. J.

Racey, H. R. Geil, W. E. Smith; (2d year) W. D. Good; (3d year)

J. W. Walter, George Burgess; (4th year) J. B. Ferguson, J. W.

Brill.

 

Ministers present, 39; absent, 16; local, 12; superannuate, 3;

unemployed, 17; delegates, 24.

 

Leading reports on missions, evangelism, church publishing

interests.

 

 

1907

 

Conference at Edinburg, Va., March 13-18.

J. S. Mills, bishop; G. P. Hott, secretary; G. W. Stover, reporter.

 

Visiting ministers: S. S. Hough, W. D. Mitchell, Dr. Whitney,

W. R. Funk, J. W. Kiracofe, C. W. Stinespring.

 

"Virginia Conference News" to be bi-monthly; A. S. Hammack,

editor.

 

The name of H. R. Geil dropped from roll, he having joined

the Evangelical Association.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 301

 

W. A. Black given local relation.

 

Presiding elder: W. F. Gruver.

 

Died: W. R. Berry, T. J. Feaster.

 

Ordered that Pleasant View be added to Franklin; that Circle-

ville be taken from Franklin and added to Pendleton circuit; that

Belmont be taken from Staunton charge and added to Augusta

circuit; that Mt. Hebron be taken from Albemarle circuit and added

to Elkton; that Dodson, Blaine, Chaffee, and Oakmont be added to

Bayard mission; that the rest of Bayard circuit be known as Elk

Garden circuit; that Linville and Long's Chapel be taken from

Harrisonburg (colored) and added to Augusta and Rockingham

circuit; that Mt. Bethel be taken from Augusta and added to

Albemarle.

 

Leading reports were those on home, education, church erec-

tion.

 

Ministers present, 41; absent, 15; local, 10; superannuate, 3;

delegates, 21.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) W. D. Mitchell, A. L. Maiden, L. E. Brill,

W. R. Chapman, J. L. Argenbright; (2d year) C. M. Good, C. J.

Racey, B. N. Sypolt; (3d year) W. M. Maiden. J. W. Walter; (4th

year) G. Burgess, J. B. Ferguson.

 

1908

 

Conference at Keyser, W. Va., March 18-23.

T. C. Carter, bishop; G. P. Hott, secretary; W. D. Mitchell, reporter.

 

Visiting ministers: H. B. Ritter, F. B. Chubb, G. A. McGuire,

Dr. Herndon, E. U. Hoenshel, S. S. Hough, W. R. Funk, H. H. Fout,

E. R. Reese, M. L. Weekley, M. L. Mayselles.

 

Died: J. D. Scott, T. K. Clifford.

 

Ordained: J. R. Ferguson, George Burgess.

 

S. K. Wine given open transfer.

 

Itinerants: W. D. Good, W. D. Mitchell.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) L. E. Brill, W. D. Mitchell, A. L. Maiden;

(2d year) C. J. Racey; (3d year) B. N. Sypolt, W. M. Maiden, J. W.

Walters; (4th year) J. B. Ferguson.

 

Ordered that the presiding elder's salary be $1,200; that Day-

ton be taken from Dayton circuit; that Mt. Hebron and Swift Run

be taken from Elkton; that Thoroughfare be detached from Shen-

andoah City, and with Mt. Hebron and Swift Run be constituted

East Rockingham circuit; that Roanoke circuit be discontinued;

that Winchester and Red Bud be made a station; that Sunrise be

taken from Frederick and added to Toms Brook; that Mt. Zion be

taken from Frederick and added to Winchester circuit; that Bethel

be taken from Toms Brook and added to Frederick; that Mt. Olive

 


 

302 UNITED BRETHREN

 

and Mt. Pleasant be taken from West Frederick and added to Win-

chester.

 

Leading reports were those on education, home, temperance,

and the Young Peoples Christian Union.

 

Ministers present, 36; absent, 16, local, 13; superannuate 4;

delegates, 29.

 

1909

 

Conference held at Shenandoah, Va., March 24-29.

G. P. Hott and A. P. Funkhouser, bishops, pro tem; G. P. Hott,

Secretary; J. C. S. Myers, E.E. Neff, R. G. Hammond, reporters.

 

R. G. Hammond received from St. Joseph Conference, T. M.

Sharp from Allegheny Conference, H. H. Richardson from Iowa

Conference.

 

Visiting ministers: L. Keister, A. N. Horn, R. G. Hammond, C.

Whitney, H. S. Gable, W. O. Fries, C. W. Stinespring, A. P. Sallaz.

 

Ordered that Belmont be taken from Augusta circuit and added

to Staunton; that Mt. Zion be taken from Winchester circuit and

added to Toms Brook; that Lost River circuit he called Hardy

circuit; that Mt. Bethel and Shendun be taken from East Rock-

ingham and added to Elkton.

 

Leading reports were those on the Bible, Sunday Schools, and

temperance.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) L. E. Brill, W. D. Mitchell, A. L. Maiden;

(3d year) B. N. Sypolt, W. M. Maiden, C. J. Racey.

 

Ministers present, 35; absent, 18; local, 12; superannuate, 5;

delegates, 20.

 

1910

 

Conference at Cumberland, Md., March 23-26.

W. W. Weekley, bishop; G. P. Hott, secretary; G. S. Hanleiter, reporter.

 

Visiting ministers: C. I. B. Brane, C. C. Whitney, J. E. Fout,

Miss McGinnis, G. S. Hanleiter, J. Ford, E. W. Webster, E. U. Hoen-

shel, B. F. Dobson, Dr. Kendall, S. R. Ludwig, W. J. Houk, G. S.

Gabel, A. B. Statton, F. M. Glenn.

 

Died: T. T. Tabb

 

Free will offering of $500 raised for Conference home mission work.

 

Presiding elder: A. S. Hammack.

 

Withdrawn: W. D. Mitchell.

 

Granted leave of absence: R. C. Hammond, J. W. Stearn, G. B. Fadeley.

 

Ordained: W. M. Maiden.

 

Platform adopted for missionary work.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 303

 

Leading reports: Temperance, missions, education, church

literature, the home, Christian stewardship, Bible study.

 

Ordered that Mt. Hebron, Thoroughfare, and Swift Run be

taken from East Rockingham (which is dissolved) and added to

Elkton; that the appointments east of the Blue Ridge — Bluffdale,

Otterbein, Shady Grove, Prize Hill — constitute Charlottesville

circuit.

 

Ministers present, 34; absent, 16; local, 11; superannuate, 5.

 

1911

 

Conference at Staunton, March 22-25.

T. C. Carter, bishop; G. P. Hott, secretary; G. S. Hanleiter, reporter.

 

Advisory seats given to J. G. Huber, C. W. Stinespring, G. S.

Hanleiter, J. E. Croft, K. Moyer, C. Whitney, S. S. Hough.

 

W. M. Merrit, a pioneer member of the conference was introduced.

 

Itinerants: B. F. Dotson, E. W. Webster, T. C. Harper, John Ford.

 

An offering of $720 for Conference church extension.

 

Leading reports: missions, education, temperance, the Christian

home, Christian stewardship.

 

Presiding elder: A. S. Hammack.

 

The “Conference News" discontinued.

 

Resolutions by the layman's meeting adopted.

 

Died: J. W. Walters.

 

Ordered that Bayard be made a station; that Frankford be

added to Cumberland; that Mt. Zion and Sunrise be taken from

Toms Brook and added to Winchester; that a church be established

at Petersburg, W. Va., in connection with South Branch circuit;

that the salary of presiding elder be $1,500, including parsonage;

that $3,000 be assessed for administration (15 per cent for bishop's

salary, 70 for presiding elder, 10 for General Conference expenses,

5 for contingent fund).

 

Licentiates: (1st year) L. E. Brill, J. Ford, L. C. Messick, A. B.

Mann; (2d year) W. M. Vansickle, A. L. Maiden, B. F. Dotson;

(3d year) B. N. Sypolt; (4th year) C. J. Racey.

 

Ministers present, 40; absent, 16; local, 14; superannuate, 4.

 

1912

 

Conference at Martinsburg, W. Va., October 2-8.

T. C. Carter, bishop; G. P. Hott, secretary; A. P. Funkhouser,

W. D. Mitchell, reporters.

 

Visiting ministers: C. W. Stinespring, S. S. Hough.

 

Died: S. E. Boyd.

 


 

304 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Transferred: B. N. Sypolt, E. W. Webster, T. C. Harper.

The name of Lan Sang Nam dropped from roll, he having be-

come a member of the Chinese Conference.

 

Itinerants: L. C. Messick, A. B. Mann, G. A. McGuire, P. B,

Chubb.

 

Resolutions by the laymen of the Conference entered on minutes.

 

Leading reports: Foreign missions, education, the home,

church publishing interests, Lebanon Valley College, the Y. P. S. C. E.

 

Presiding elder: A. S. Hammack.

 

Ordered that Bethel be taken from Charlottesville and added

to Augusta; that Mt. Vernon be taken from Charlottesville and

added to Pleasant Valley; that the appointments east of the Blue

Ridge be constituted a charge; that Circleville be taken from

Pendleton, and with Riverton, High Rock, Mt. Pleasant and Seneca

(taken from Franklin) be known as Riverton circuit; that Oak

Hill be added to Churchville; that Big Pool and Buck Hill be

added to Jones Springs; that Rockbridge circuit be known as

Swoope circuit; that Dayton circuit be known as West Rockingham

circuit.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) L. E. Brill, L. C. Messick, A. B. Mann,

G. A. McGuire, F. B. Chubb, I. Summers, W. D. Mitchell; (2d year)

B. F. Dotson; (4th year) D. G. Brimlow.

 

Ministers present, 43; absent, 8; local, 6; superannuate, 4;

delegates, 28.

 

1913

 

Conference at Roanoke, September 24-28.

W. M. Weekley, bishop; G. P. Hott, secretary; A. P. Funkhouser,

W. D. Mitchell, reporters.

 

Advisory seats given to L. O. Miller. W. O. Fries, S. S. Hough,

J. P. Landis, R. Rock.

 

Chairman of laymen's meeting: L. A, Armentrout.

 

Presiding elder: A. S. Hammack.

 

Vote for union with the Methodist Protestant Church: 32 for,

20 against.

 

Itinerants: I. Summers, W. D. Mitchell.

 

Ordered that Salem and Park Side be taken from Inwood and

added to Martinsburg, Second Church; that Mt. Carmel, Central,

and Buck Hill be taken from Jones Springs and added to West

Frederick; that Ridgely be attached to Cumberland mission; that

Frederick circuit be called Reliance; that Mt. Hebron and Thor-

oughfare be taken from Elkton and added to Charlottesville.

 

Leading reports: Home, education, missions, publishing in-

terests, Y. P. S. C.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 305

 

Licentiates: (1st year) L. E. Brill, L. C. Messick, G. A. McGuire,

F. B. Chubb, I. Summers, W. D. Mitchell, A. Bamford, R. N. Young;

(2d year) B. F. Dotson, A. B. Mann; (4th year) D. G. Brimlow.

 

Ministers present, 41; absent, 14; local, 16; superannuate, 5;

unemployed, 15; delegates, 25.

 

1914

 

Conference at Westernport, Md., September 22-28.

W. M. Weekley, bishop; J. H. Brunk, secretary.

 

Visiting ministers: G. A. Funkhouser, R. Rock, W. P. Barger,

C. W. Stinespring, Dr. H. F. Shupe, Dr. C. W. Brewbaker, S. E.

Bowman, S. R. Ludwig.

 

Ordained: W. D. Mitchel, D. G. Brimlow.

 

Presiding elder: A. S. Hammack.

 

Died: William H. Clary.

 

Itinerants: A. L. Maiden, D. G. Brimlow, R. N. Young, I. Sum-

mers, W. D. Mitchel.

 

Ordered that Pleasant Grove be taken from Augusta circuit

and added to Dayton station; that Belmont be taken from Staunton

and added to Augusta; that Cherry Run circuit be constituted from

Slater's, Sleepy Creek, and Big Pool (taken from Jones Spring)

and Cherry Run and Pleasant Hill (new appointments); that Mt.

Carmel, Buck Hill, and Central be taken from West Frederick

and attached to Jones Springs; that Cross Keys and Hampshire be taken

from Westernport and added to Elk Garden; that Blaine and

Chaffee be taken from Elk Garden and added to Bayard; that

Fountain circuit be constituted from Fountain, Mt. Zion, and

Eureka (taken from New Creek circuit) and Alaska and Horse-

shoe (new appointments); that Swift Run be taken from Elkton

circuit and added to Charlottesville, and the name changed to

Swift Run circuit.

 

Leading reports: Foreign mission, Christian stewardship, pub-

lishing interests, Sunday Schools, education.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) L. E. Brill, G. A. McGuire, F. B. Chubb,

L Summers, R. N. Young; (2d year) A. Bamford, L. C. Messick, J.

W. Wright; (3d year) A. B. Mann.

 

Ministers present, 44; absent, 12; local, 9; superannuate, 4;

delegates, 32.

 

1915

 

Conference at Singers Glen, Va., September 15-20.

W. M. Weekley, bishop; J. H. Brunk, secretary; A. P. Funkhouser, reporter.

 

Advisory seats given to Dr. John Owen, Dr. J. H. Kendall,

W. A. Wilt, G. K. Little, C. W. Hutsler.

 


 

306 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Mrs. Hal Smith, returned missionary from Africa, given honor-

ary seat.

 

Died: G. P. Hott, J. D. Donovan.

 

Leading reports: Publishing interests, education, the Christian

Home, Christian stewardship, the Virginia Conference.

 

Ordered that Potomac circuit be constituted from Sir John’s

Run and Fairview (taken from Berkeley Spring station) and

Alpine and Friendship (taken from Berkeley Springs circuit); that

Salem be taken from Martinsburg, Second Church and added to

 

Licentiates: (1st year) L. E. Brill, G. A. McGuire, F. B. Chubb,

I. Simmers, R. N. Young, D. T. Gregory, J. H. Schmitt, H. M. Crimm,

J. R. Collis, F. A. Tinney; (2d year) L. C. Messick; (3d year) A.

B. Mann; (4th year) W. G. McNeil, J. W. Wright, A. Bamford.

 

Ministers present, 48; absent, 10; local, 16; superannuate, 3;

delegates, 31.

 

1916

 

Conference at Shenandoah, Va., September 13-18.

W. M. Weekley, bishop; J. H. Brunk, secretary; H. E. Richard-

son, I. K. Roby, N. F. A. Cupp, W. F. Gruver, W. D. Mitchell, G. W.

Stover reporters.

 

Advisory seats given to W. J. Houck, W. A. Wilt, E. U. Hoenshel,

W. L. Childress, C. W. Cooper.

 

Superintendent: A. S. Hammack.

 

The name of R. G. Hammond dropped from the roll, he having

joined another church.

 

Bishop Weekley delivered an address on "Otterbein, the Model

 

Preacher." 

 

Itinerants: T. E. Gruver, S. L. Baugher, W. G. McNeil.

 

Ordered that Strasburg be added to Toms brook; that the

Cumberland work be designated Cumberland and Ridgely.

 

Ordained: J. W. Wright, A. Bamford.

 

Leading reports: Prohibition, foreign missions, Christian

stewardship, the Christian Endeavor.

 

Ministers present, 52; absent, 12; local, 20; superannuate, 3;

delegates, 31.

 

1917

 

Conference at Petersburg, W. Va., September 26 – October 1.

W. M. Bell, bishop; J. H. Brunk, secretary; N. F. A. Cupp, H. E.

Richardson, reporters.

 

Died: A. P. Funkhouser, J. M. Hott, J. G. Roudabush.

 

Superintendent: A. S. Hammack.

 

The name of W. L. Hamrick was dropped from the roll because

of irregular withdrawal.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 307

 

Advisory seats given to Dr. A. C. Siddall, W. O. Fries, Miss Dora

Housekeeper, J. E. Fout, J. B. Chamberlain, Prof. J. H. Ruebush.

 

Report of committee of course of study.

 

Entered on minutes certificate of agreement between the

Church Erection Society and the Conference Board.

 

Leading reports: Christian stewardship, the Christian home,

home missions, education, temperance.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) L. E. Brill, F. B. Chubb, R. N. Young,

D. T. Gregory, J. H. Schmitt, H. M. Crimm, J. R. Collis, F. A.

Tinney, W. B. Obaugh, W. R. Swank, D. F. Glovier, M. W. Nelson,

V. L. Phillips, W. H. Smith, W. R. McKinney, L. G. Bridges, J. L.

Oliver, C. W. Hiser, W. M. Courtney, W. P. Hollar; (2d year) I.

Summers, L. C. Messick; (3d year) G. A. McGuire; (4th year)

A. B. Mann.

 

Ministers present, 48; absent, 18; local, 27; superannuate, 1;

delegates, 16.

 

1918

 

Conference at Harrisonburg, Va., September 25-30.

W. M. Bell, bishop; J. H. Brunk, secretary.

 

M. L. Weekley received from West Virginia Conference.

 

Advisory seats given to W. R. Funk, E. U. Hoenshel, J. E. Fout,

A. C. Siddall, Prof. J. E. Weidler of Free Town, Africa.

 

Died: E. W. McMullen.

 

Ordained: A. B. Mann.

 

Superintendent: A. S. Hammack.

 

Ministers who had served two full years within the bounds of

the Conference placed on the itinerant list.

 

Charter of Conference Church Erection Society presented.

 

Assignments for Seminary Extension Study.

 

Leading reports: Education, temperance, home missions, and

a particularly excellent one on "the Christian Home" by L. A.

Racey.

 

Bible Conference ordered for the next summer.

 

Plan adopted for raising an endowment fund for the Shen-

andoah Collegiate Institute and School of Music.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) L. E. Brill, F. B. Chubb, D. T. Gregory,

H. M. Crimm, F. A. Tinney, J. A. Arnold, M. W. Nelson, V. L.

Phillips, W. H. Smith, J. L. Oliver, C. W. Hiser, W. M. Courtney,

W. P. Holler; (2d year) I. Summers, W. R. McKinney, L. G.

Bridgers, D. F. Glovier, R. N. Young, J. R. Collis; (3d year) G. A.

McGuire, W. B. Obaugh, L. C. Messick.

 

Ministers present, 49; absent, 16; local, 26; superannuate, 1;

delegates, 28.

 


 

308 UNITED BRETHREN

 

1919

 

Conference at Martinsburg, September 24-29.

W. M. Bell bishop; J. H. Brunk and A. L. Maiden, secretaries;

W. D. Mitchell, reporter.

 

A. J. Secrist, treasurer; A. S. Hammack, superintendent.

 

Resigned: B. F. Chubb, George Burgess, W. D. Good.

 

Died: L. E. Brill, aged 47.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) D. T. Gregory, H. M. Crimm, J. H. Arnold, W. H.

Smith, J. E. Oliver, Jr., C. W. Hiser, W. P. Hollar, M. W. Nelson,

W. M. Courtney, F. A. Tinny; (2d year) D. F. Glovier, L. G.

Bridgers, J. R. Collis; (3d year) R. N. Young, W. L. Phillips, G.

A. McGuire, L. C. Messick, W. B. Obaugh.

 

Increase of 18 per cent in salaries.

 

W. F. Gruver and A. S. Hammack, trustees for Lebanon Valley

College.

 

J. S. and B. H. Gruver contribute $1,000 to Conference Minis-

terial Relief Fund, a memorial to Jacob I. Gruver and wife.

 

Papers read on "The Importance of the Sunday School," “The

Rights of the Child," "Christian Education," and "Church Exten-

sion."

 

Active itinerants, 38; superannuate, 1; local preachers 26 (18

unemployed).

 

1920

 

Conference at Berkeley Springs, September 15-20.

W. M. Bell, bishop; A. S. Hammack, superintendent; J. H. Brunk

and A. L. Maiden, secretaries; A. J. Secrist, treasurer.

 

Licentiates: (1st year) J. E. Oliver, Jr., C. W. Hiser, J. H.

Arnold, W. H. Smith, W. M. Courtney, M. W. Nelson, H. P. Ruppen-

thal, E. E. Miller; (3d year) R. N. Young, G. A. McGuire, W. B.

Obaugh, L. C. Messick, D. F. Glovier, L. G. Bridgers, J. R. Collis.

 

Licensed to preach: M. M. Collins, Herman Grove, D. A. Frazier,

 

Lay delegates, 35.

 

Certificates given H. E. Richardson, A. B. Mann, D. F. Glovier,

L. C. Messick, R. N. Young on Seminary Extension.

 

Papers read on "The Christian Home," "Publishing Interests,"

"Home Missions," "Foreign Missions."

 

Membership, 17,818.

 

Value of churches and parsonages, $575,872.88.

 

Active itinerants, 38; superannuate, 1; local preachers, 26 (18

unemployed).

 

1921

 

Conference at Dayton, September 14-19.

W. M. Bell, bishop; J. H. Brunk and A. L. Maiden, secretaries; W. S. Crick,

reporter.

 

A. S. Hammack, superintendent; A. J. Secrist, treasurer.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 309

 

Licentiates: (1st year), J. E. Oliver, Jr., C. W. Hiser. J. H.

Arnold, W. H. Smith, W. M. Courtney, H. P. Ruppenthal, E. E. Miller,

M. W. Nelson; (3d year). W. B. Obaugh, L.C. Messick. D. F.

Glovier, L. G. Bridgers. J. R. Collis.

 

Licensed to preach: Gladstone Cooley. W. C. Mundy, J. Paul

Gruver, P. P. Bell, B. F. Spitzer, G. M. Keezle, J. H. Sisler, Arnold

Roderick, George Knopp, William Rifle.

 

Applicants for annual conference license: Claude Ryan, Her-

man Grove, L. M. Leach, C. W. Tinsman, E. B. Caplinger, U. P.

Hovermale, C. K. Welsh.

 

Added to itinerant list: W. W. Skellett, Charles Schadd, W. L. Childress.

 

Resigned: C. G. Stambach, Dewey Ritter, G. W. Butler, D. D. Brant.

 

Died: G. A. McGuire.

 

Value, Shenandoah Collegiate Institute property, $75,835.

 

Received during year, $28,408.01.

 

Disbursed, $28,580.82.

 

Average salary, $1,038 and parsonage.

 

 

CHARGES, 1921

 


Augusta

Berkeley Springs Station

Berkeley Spring Circuit

Bayard

Broadway

Big Pool

Churchville

Cumberland, First

Cumberland, Second

Dayton

Edinburg

Elk Garden

Elkton

Franklin

Fountain

Great Cacapon

Greensburg

Harrisonburg

Hardy

Inwood

Jones Springs

Keyser

Lacey Spring

Martinsburg, First

Martinsburg, Second

Manassas

New Creek

Pleasant Valley

Pendleton

Petersburg

Reliance

Riverton

Ridgeley

Roanoke

Swift Run

Swoope

Staunton

South Branch

Shenandoah

Singers Glen

Sleepy Creek

Toms Brook

Westernport

Winchester Station

Winchester Circuit

West Frederick

West Rockingham


 


 

310 UNITED BRETHREN

 

CONFERENCE ROLL, 1921

 

Note: The names of those present are starred. Dates are those

of joining conference. The post office address is at the right of

the page.

 

Arnold, J. H.     1918 Annville, Pa. (student Lebanon Valley College).

 

Baugher, S. L.*   1914 Edinburg, Va.

Beale, J. R.*     1916 Dayton, Va., (teacher S. C. I.)

Black, W. A.      1897 Roanoke, Va.

Bridgers, L. G.*  1917 Ridgeley, W. Va.

Brill. J. W.*     1894 Bayard, W. Va.

Brimlow, D. G.    1911 Martinsburg, W. Va.

Brunk, J. H.*     1897 Berkeley Springs, W. Va.

Burgess, George   1902 Laurel Dale, W. Va.

 

Caplinger, E. B.* 1921 Dayton, Va. (student S. C. I.)

Chamberlain, J. B. 1918 Martinsburg, W. Va.

Childress, W. L.* 1921 Cumberland, Md.

Coffman, T. J.*   1917 Hagerstown, Md.

Collis, J. R.*    1915 Broadway, Va.

Courtney, W. M.*  1917 Sleepy Creek, W. Va.

Crimm, H. M.      1915 Tiama, Africa (missionary).

Crowell, C. H.*   1878 Great Cacapon, W. Va.

Cupp, N. F. A.*   1885 Martinsburg, W. Va., R. F. D. 5.

 

Dawson, S. D.     1894 Ridgeley, W. Va.

Dyche, C. P.*     1881 Elkton, Va., R. F. D.

 

Fadeley, G. B.*   1880 Harrisonburg, Va.

Ford. J. H.*      1910 Roanoke, Va.

Ferguson, J. B.   1901 Roanoke, Va.

Fries. J. N.*     1874 Berkeley Springs, W. Va. (teacher in high school).

 

Glovier, D. F.*   1916 Rolla, Va.

Gregory, D. T.*   1915 Dayton, O. (ass’t secretary Board of Administration).

Grove, Hermon*    1921 Antioch, W. Va.

Gruver, W. F.*    1887 Harrisonburg, Va.

 

Hammack, A. S.*   1886 Dayton, Va.

Hiser, C. W.*     1917 Annville, Pa. (student L. V. C.)

Horn, A. M.       1880 Mt. Solon, Va.

Hovermale, V. P.  1921 Dayton, O. (Bonebrake Seminary).

 

Judy, Ida M.*     1900 Dayton, Va. (teacher S. C. I.)

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 311

 

McNeil, W. G.*    1915 Petersburg, W. Va.

Maiden, A. L.*    1907 Dayton, O. (Bonebrake Seminary).

Maiden, J. W.*    1892 Bridgewater, Va.

Maiden, W. M.*    1904 Maysville, W. Va.

Mann, A. B.*      1911 Staunton, Va.

Messick, L. C*    1910 Jones Springs, W. Va.

Miller, E. E.     1920 Annville, Va. (student L. V. C.)

Mitchell, W. D.*  1912 Akron, Ohio.

Myers, J. C. S.*  1889 Lacey Spring, Va.

 

Nelson, M. W.     1916 Circleville, W. Va.

 

Obaugh, W. B.     1916 Dayton, O., (student in Bonebrake Seminary).

Oliver, J. E., Jr. 1917 Dayton, O. (Bonebrake Seminary).

 

Phillips, V. L.   1916 Westerville, O. (Field Secretary, Otterbein College).

 

Racey, C. J.*     1905 Westernport, Md.

Racey, L. A.*     1897 Inwood, W. Va.

Rau, W. S.*       1900 Shenandoah, Va.

Richardson, H. E.* 1909 Martinsburg, W. Va.

Ridenour, J. R.   1875 Middletown, Md.

Ruppenthal, H. P.* 1920 Shenandoah, Va.

Ryan, C. A.*      1921 Keyser, W. Va., R. F. D.

 

Sampsell, W. H.*  1881 Winchester, Va.

Schadd, C. H.*    1921 Sleepy Creek, W. Va.

Secrist, A. J.*   1895 Martinsburg, W. Va.

Skelton, S. D.*   1885 Dayton, Va.

Smith, W. H.*     1917 Dayton, Va.

Stover, G. W.*    1894 Winchester, Va.

Stearn, J. W.*    1897 Mt. Clinton, Va.

Swank, W. R.*     1916 Westerville, O. (student Otterbein College).

 

Tinsman, C. W.*   1921 Dayton, Va. (student S. C. I.)

 

Welsh, C. K.*     1921 Winchester, Va.

Wilt, W. A.*      1917 Keyser, W. Va.

Wright, J. W.     1914 Westerville, Ohio.

 

Young, R. N.*     1912 Churchville, Va.

 

Local: J. H. Arnold, J. R. Beale, W. A. Black, L. G. Bridgers,

George Burgess, T. J. Coffman, W. M. Courtney, S. D. Dawson,

J. N. Fries, J. B. Ferguson, Herman Grove, C. W. Hiser, A. M. Horn,

U. P. Hovermale, Ida M. Judy, E. B. Caplinger, E. E. Miller, M. W.

 


 

312 UNITED BRETHREN

 

Nelson, W. B. Obaugh. J. E. Oliver, Jr., V. L. Phillips, H. P. Ruppen-

thal, C. A. Ryan, W. R. Swank, C. W. Tinsman, C. K. Welsh, J.

W. Wright.

 

Licentiates: J. H. Arnold, L. G. Bridgers, J. R. Collis, W. M.

Courtney, P. F. Glovier, Herman Grove, C. W. Hiser, U. P. Hover-

male, E. R. Caplinger, E. E. Miller, M. W. Nelson, W. B. Obaugh,

J. E. Oliver, Jr., V. L. Phillips, H. P. Ruppenthal, C. A. Ryan, C. H.

Schadd, W. H. Smith, W. R. Swank, C. W. Tinsman, C. K. Welsh,

W. A. Wilt.

 

Retired: C. P. Dyche, J. W. Maiden, J. R. Ridenour.

 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 313

 

GENERAL INDEX

 


 Page

Ambrose, W.             155

 

Bachtel, J.               72

Baugher, S. L.          155

Beale, J. R.            155

Berry, W. R.            156

Boehm, M.                 17

Bovey, H. A.            150

Bovey, J. A.            190

Brane, C. I. B.         156

Brashear, T. F.         157

Bridgers, L. C.         157

Brill, J. W.            157

Brunk, J.               158

Brunk, J. H.            158

Burgess, G.             158

Burtner, H.           71,158

Burtner, L.             159

Burtner, O. W.          159

Burtner, W. H.          159

Byrd, R.                159

 

Charges, 1921 List      309

Childress, W. L.        160

Church, Apostolic        1,6

Church Dedications   193-202

Church Papers            100

Church Union         109,209

Civil War                 94

Circuits, 1848            80

Clary, W. H.            160

Clifford, T. K.         160

Collis, J. R.           161

Conference Divisions   42,45

Conf. Minutes        224-309

Conferences, First     38,41

Conference Roll, 1921   310

Corbin, A.              153

Coursey, W. R.     73,86,161

Crabill, S. A.          161

Crowell, C. H.          161

Cupp, N. F. A            162

 

Dawson, S. D.           162

Day, A.                 162

Dayton                  220

Deneale, G. E.            84

Division in Church      103

Donovan, J. D.          162

 

Early Brethren in Va.     44

Education               214

Evangelical Movement      32

Evangelical Reformed Ch.  36

Evers, A. M.            163

Evers, S.               191

Ewing, W.            163,191

 

Fadeley, G. B.           163

Feaster, T. J.          163

Ford, J. H.             164

Fout, Henry H.          151

Fout, Julius E.         152

Freed, A. D.            164

Fries, W.               164

Fries, Jay N.           222

Fulkerson, J. W.      81,153

Funk, Kingsley          192

Funkhouser, A. P.       203

 

Geeting. G. A.            43

German, Immigration       21

German Language       90,107

German Reformed Church     8

Gibbons, J.             190

Glossbrenner, J.J. 72,96,147

Glovier, D. F.          165

Great Meeting, The        66

Gregory, D. T.          165

Grimm, J. L.            165


 


 

314 UNITED BRETHREN

 


Page

Grimm, J. W.            165

Grove, H. J.            166

Gruver, W. F.           166

 

Hammack, A. S.          166

Harman, G.              166

Haney, J.             87,167

Harp, J.                167

Hensley, J. L.          167

Hershey, J. M.            86

Hicks, J. W.            168

Hiestand, S.            152

Hiser, C. W.            168

Hisey, F.                 87

Hoenshel, E. U.         222

Hoover, A.              168

Hott, C. M.             191

Hott, G. P.             169

Hott, J. F.             168

Hott, J. H.             169

Hott, J. W.             150

Howe, G. W.             170

Howe, J. W.             170

Huffman, G.           76,172

Huffman, S. J.          173

Hussites                   3

Hutsler, C. W.          173

 

Intoxicants             115

 

Jones, H.               173

Jones, W.               173

Judy, I. M.             173

 

Ketterman, J. G.        173

Kiracofe, J. W.         174

Kiracofe, N. A.         174

 

Lawrence, P, J.         174

Ludwig, S. R.           174

Lutz, L. W.             174

 

McNamar, J. C.          154

McMullen, E. W.         175

McNeil, W. G.           176

Maiden, A. L.           175

Maiden, J. W.           175

Mann, A. B.             175

Markwood, J.      71,96,150

Martin, W. L.           175

Mennonites             17,29

Messick, L. H.          176

Methodists              106

Miles, J. W.            176

Miller, C.              176

Mitchell, W. D.         176

Missions, Foreign       102

Moravians              5,105

Music                   102

 

Negley, J. A.           177

Newcomer, C.           49,52

Newcomer's Journal    45-65

Nihiser, J. W.          177

Nihiser, R.             190

 

Obaugh, W. R.           177

Otterbein, W.   9-16,107,215

 

Paid Ministry, The         99

Perry, J. E.               77

Perry, J. W.              178

Preachers, Alphabetical  133

Preachers, Chronological 124

Preachers, Early 68,70,85,87

 

Racey, C. J.            178

Racey, L. A.            178

Rau, W. S.              178

Religion in Early America 33

Rexrode, G. W.          178

Rhinehart, W. R.          85

Richardson, H. E.       179

Ridenour, J. R.         179

Rimel, G. R.           78,86

Roderick, L.            179

Roudabush, G. J.        180

Ruebush, J.           73,180

Ruebush, J. H.          222

Ruppenthal, H. P.       182


 


 

CHURCH HISTORY 315

 


Page

Salt, M. C.             182

Sampsell, W. H.         182

Schlatter, Michael        11

Scott, J. D.            183

Scott, S.               182

Secret Societies        119

Secrist, A. J.          183

Sellars, A. S.          154

Senseny, P.             183

Shen. Collegiate Inst.  220

Shuey, Christian     115,148

Shuey, G. A.            184

Skelton, S. D.          184

Slavery                 113

Smith, W. C.            154

Smith, W. H.            184

Snyder, J. F.           184

Spener, P. J.              9

Statton, J. F.            83

Statton, G. W.            77

Statton, L. K.          185

Stickley, B.           74,84

Stover, G. W.           186

 

Tabb, T. T.             186

Tallhelm H.             187

Thomas, P. H.           187

Tobacco                 117

 

Umstot, Z.              187

 

Underwood, I. M.        187

United Ministers, The     35

 

Waldensees                 2

Walters, J. W.          188

Walton, A. P.           188

Warner, Z.              152

"We Are Brethren"         34

Weller, P. W.        188,191

Whitesel, P.            190

Whitesel, J. E.         191

Widmyer, J. E.       188,191

Wilt, W. A.             189

Wine, S. K.             189

 

Young, R. N.            189

 

Zahn, J. H.            4,189

Zehrung, S.             189

Zinzendorf, Count          5