USA > Illinois > Church of the Brethren in southern Illinois > Part 11
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LELLAND MARION BALDWIN, the. son of Charles Thomas and Barbara Wagoner Baldwin, was born in Fayette County, Illinois, December 26, 1897. He was baptized by Oscar Redenbo, on August 17, 1910. He , married Maudie Fern McConkey of Lawton, Oklahoma, on June 5, 1927. One son and one daughter were born to them. He graduated from Green- ville College, Illinois, in 1920, studied in McPherson College in 1927 and did graduate work at Warrenbsurg, Mis-
L. M. BALDWIN
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souri, the summer of 1938. As a school administrator he served for seven years in Kansas and Arkansas. He was li- censed to the ministry in the Hurricane Creek church, Illi- nois, August 27, 1922; installed at McPherson, Kansas, May 11, 1924, and ordained at Osceola, Missouri, November 4, 1939. He gave part-time pastoral services to the Osceola, Nevada, and Deepwater churches in Missouri in connection with teaching positions from 1934 to 1941. From 1941 to 1945 he was pastor at La Place, Illinois; 1945-1948, pastor, Olivet church, Ohio; 1948-, pastor, Morrill, Kansas. He has been active in camp work and has conducted fifteen evangelistic meetings.
OTTO BALDWIN, born in Fayette County, Illinois, on March 17, 1894, is the son of Charles and Barbara Wagoner Baldwin. He married Elizabeth Schoen of Edgewood, Illi- nois, July 23, 1930; one son was born to them. Brother Bald- win received a B.S. degree at Mount Morris College and did graduate work at the University of Illinois. He taught school twenty-five years in Illinois. He was baptized by Elder N. H. Miller on August 28, 1921. Elected to the min- istry in Bond County, Illinois, on October 28, 1945, he served the Martins Creek and Romine churches, 1945-1946. His present residence is in the West Eel River congrega- tion in the District of Middle Indiana, where he farms and assists the church as a supply pastor.
WILBUR M. BANTZ was born in Carroll County, Tennes- see, June 23, 1900, the son of C. M. and Carrie Oren Bantz. He married Martha Blessing of Dayton, Ohio, on June 29, 1918. They have one son and one daughter. He was bap- tized by D. M. Garver in 1911. His A.B. degree was received from Manchester College; one year at Bethany Biblical Sem- inary was followed by study at Crozer Theological Sem- inary, from which he graduated with a B.D. degree. Elected
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to the ministry in September 1924, he was ordained as an elder in 1930. His pastoral service is summarized: Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1925-1927; Wilmington, Delaware, 1929- 1934; Thornville, Ohio (Olivet church), 1934 - 1936; Toledo, WILBUR BANTZ AND WIFE Ohio, 1936-1945; Decatur, Illi- nois, since 1946. He was an area supervisor for Civilian Public Service, 1945-1946. He has been a Standing Committee delegate three times.
CHRISTIAN BARNHART, son of Daniel and Catharine Bru- baker Barnhart, was born near Salem, Virginia, January 18, 1847. He came to Woodford County, Illinois, when a young man. On February 8, 1872, he married Sarah Elizabeth Brown. A few years later he moved to Mansfield, Illinois, and in 1919 to Pendleton, Indiana. Accepting Christ at the age of twenty-one, he was called to the ministry early in life. He died on June 20, 1927.
JOHN BARNHART, the son of Elder Daniel Barnhart, was born in Roanoke County, Virginia, May 4, 1830. He was married to Artemecia Hurst of Salem, Virginia, on February 6, 1851. With his wife and three children he moved to Wood- ford County, Illinois, in 1856. The next year he was elected deacon. On May 18, 1860, he was elected to the ministry and in 1862 was advanced to the second degree. After living in Woodford County ten years he moved to Urbana, Illinois, on February 6, 1866. In May of the same year he with his wife and eight others organized a congregation known as the Urbana church. Here he preached for four years, travel- ing mostly on foot and horseback and often going thirty miles to fill his appointments. Brother Barnhart held meet-
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ings in forty different places in Champaign County and at twelve places in Piatt County. He moved near Mahomet, in the western part of Champaign County in 1870. Here, on May 3, 1878, the new congregation was founded with a membership of twelve. On September 7, 1878, Brother Barnhart was ordained elder of the Blue Ridge and Urbana churches. All these years he lived on a rented farm and supported his large family. Brother Barnhart was a very devoted Christian from the time he united with the Church of the Brethren on September 15, 1855. In 1893 he moved to Mansfield, Illinois, where he spent the last years of his life. He died in Mansfield, February 16, 1917.
JOSEPH OLIVER BARNHART, the oldest son of Isaac and Susley Bond Barnhart, was born near Liberty, Illinois, on February 2, 1865. When he was a boy of six years the fam- ily moved to Piatt County, Illinois, and lived at Milmine, La Place and Cerro Gordo. After graduating from high school at Cerro Gordo in 1886 he taught school for over twenty-five years. He united with the Church of the Breth- ren at Cerro Gordo when only a youth, at a time when there were but few of his age in the church. On April 19, 1908, he married Mrs. Mary Grant in Chesterville, Illinois. He was elected to the ministry in the Oakley congregation, Novem- ber 27, 1919. Because of the lateness of the call to the min- istry and the loss of his sight a few years later, his work in the ministry was seriously handicapped, although he had served in the pulpit in several churches in the district. He had a remarkable memory, a keen intellect and a vast store of Biblical and literary knowledge. The outstanding char- acteristics of his life were his poetic ability and his love of music. Over a period of years, many of his poems and hymns appeared in church periodicals and hymnals; also, one volume of his poems was published. He passed away at Decatur, Illinois, on May 14, 1941.
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KENNETH C. BECHTEL was born at New Enterprise, Penn- sylvania, in 1898. He graduated from Juniata Academy, 1920; Juniata College, A.B., 1925; Presbyterian Theological Seminary, B.D., 1931; Bethany Biblical Seminary, M.Th., 1933; University of Chicago, Ph.D., 1937. His wife is the former Catharine Mae Furrey of New Enterprise. He served as pastor at Girard, Illinois, 1934-1937, and at Sterling, Illi- nois, 1937-1946. He has been a teacher in McPherson Col- lege, Kansas, since 1946.
JONAS BECK, born in Carroll County, Maryland, May 30, 1848, was the son of George and Susanna Stone Beck. He married Margaret Webber on December 5, 1880. In 1871 he united with the Church of the Brethren, and was bap- tized by J. D. Hockteller at Panora, Iowa. The Woodland church of Southern Illinois called him to the ministry in 1885. He served in the free ministry as associate minister in the Woodland and Astoria congregations, where he farmed, did some evangelistic work in the district, and preached at various mission points. He died at Astoria, Illinois, on January 27, 1913.
A. J. BEEGHLY was born in Somerset County, Pennsyl- vania, on May 30, 1872, the son of Daniel and Mary Schrock Beeghly. He married Cora M. Gnagy of Somerset County. Five sons and four daughters were born to them. He was baptized by J. Long in 1884; elected deacon, April 22, 1899; elected minister in the Walnut Grove church, Illinois. Oc- tober 31, 1908; ordained an elder on May 27, 1916. He farmed about twenty years, then gave full time to pastoral and evangelistic work in Maryland and Pennsylvania. His pres- ent pastorate is in the Middle Creek church in Pennsyl- vania. Twice he served on Standing Committee.
ADAM L. BINGAMAN, born in Lancaster County, Penn- sylvania, July 14, 1844, was the son of George and Christi-
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anna Landis Bingaman. He came to Illinois when a young man and united with the Church of the Brethren in the Cerro Gordo community, and was baptized by Elder Menno Stauffer, October 10, 1876. He was united in marriage to Barbara Ellen Miser of Oakley, Illinois, on October 19, 1873; to them were born four daughters. A veteran of the Civil War, he farmed in Piatt and Macon counties. In 1884 he was elected to the ministry in the Cerro Gordo church. He served the Oakley church for a number of years as a farmer- minister, and was the first Sunday-school superintendent in that congregation. He was ordained to the eldership on January 1, 1908. He served on the district mission board, preached at a number of mission points in the district, and officiated at many funerals and marriages. His last years were spent in Cerro Gordo, where he passed away on Febru- ary 13, 1928.
FLORA NICKEY ROSS BJORKLUND was born near Oakley, Illinois, on May 5, 1881, the daughter of Amos and Mary Heckman Nickey. When eleven years old she united with the church at Oakley. In 1899 she went to Mount Morris College, where she studied for nearly four years. She was married to Amos W. Ross on June 12, 1902, near Juniata, Nebraska; they had four daughters. They served in the pastor- ate at Sterling, Colorado, 1903-1904. In 1905 they went to India and were sta- tioned at Vyara from 1905 to 1913. In addition to her work of teaching she FLORA BJORKLUND did a great deal of medical work. They started a successful boarding school at Vyara. During their first nine-year term of service about three hundred fifty were baptized;
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fifty were baptized on one Christmas Day. After their furlough they worked at Bulsar from 1915 to 1922; there she had charge of the widows' home. They returned to America on account of the health of Brother Ross, who, a few years later, died at their home in North Manchester, Indiana. Her second marriage was to John Bjorklund, on August 8, 1929. She continues active in the work of the church at North Manchester.
ANDREW BLICKENSTAFF, son of Elder Solomon and Mary Metzger Blickenstaff, was born in Clinton County, Indiana, June 27, 1876. Andrew was baptized by Elder L. T. Hol-
ANDREW BLICKENSTAFF AND WIFE
singer. He married Lillie Wheeler of Cerro Gordo, Illinois, on December 25, 1898. He took two years of academic work in Manchester College, two summer terms of normal train- ing at Frankfort, Indiana, and one year at Bethany Biblical Seminary. Until 1904 he engaged in farming and teaching in Indiana. Elected to the ministry at Cerro Gordo on De-
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cember 31, 1905, he was ordained to the eldership at Mc- Farland, California, in 1911. He was full-time pastor at McFarland, 1918-1919, and presiding elder from the time of the organization in 1912 until 1947. Seven times he was a delegate on Standing Committee for the District of North- ern California, was moderator of district conference five times, and from 1917 to 1941 was a member of the district mission board and the board of administration.
DAN L. BLICKENSTAFF, son of Levi and Martha Burgard Davis Blickenstaff, was born near Oakley, Illinois, Novem- ber 11, 1901. He was baptized in the Oakley congregation by Elder S. G. Nickey on Oc- tober 31, 1909. On January 23, 1925, he married Mabrye Ann Taylor of Plattsburg, Missouri. They have two daughters. For one year each he attended Bethany Training School, Mount Morris Col- lege, Oklahoma A. and M. Col- lege, and McPherson College, graduating from the latter DAN L. BLICKENSTAFF AND WIFE school in 1945 with an A.B. de- gree. From 1920 to 1922 he was a rural schoolteacher. The Oakley congregation licensed him to the ministry in 1938; he was installed in 1940 and ordained to the eldership on August 26, 1943. From 1940 to 1947 he was pastor in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. He was a delegate to Standing Com- mittee in 1947. Since 1947 he has been a student at Bethany Biblical Seminary.
DAVID J. BLICKENSTAFF, son of Joseph and Catharine E. Replogle Blickenstaff, was born near Oakley, Illinois, August
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25, 1868. On May 22, 1887, he was baptized by Amos J. Nickey. Elizabeth Frances Henricks of Cerro Gordo, Illi- nois, became his wife on March 24, 1892. She lived un- til February 3, 1929. One foster daughter was reared in this home. He married Susan Charlotte Hunter of Pleasant Mound, Illinois, on August 27, 1930. He attended Mount Morris College in 1890-1891, and again for six months of Bible work, 1899-1900; in ad- dition he attended brief Bible terms at Mount Morris Col- lege, Manchester College and Bethany Biblical Seminary. Brother Blickenstaff was elected to the ministry in the D. J. BLICKENSTAFF AND WIFE Oakley church, November 1, 1895, and ordained to the eldership in the Hudson church, Hudson, Illinois, Decem- ber 6, 1901. In the Oakley church he served in the free ministry for many years while farming. From 1901 to 1903 he was pastor at Hudson, Illinois. As elder-in-charge he served these churches: Hudson, Walnut Grove, Astoria, Cerro Gordo, Hurricane Creek, and Oakley-the latter for thirty-six years. He has served in various district of- fices: member, district mission board, nineteen years; mem- ber, district trustee board, three years; moderator, three times; reader, six times; secretary, twice. Four times he represented the district on Standing Committee. Since 1940 he has been a member of the district historical committee. He has attended fifty-five consecutive district meetings.
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LEONARD BLICKENSTAFF was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, May 11, 1811, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Blicken- staff. He married Catherine Ulery; to them were born ten children. Leonard was elected to the ministry in the Middle Fork church near Rossville, Indiana. The family moved to Macon County, Illinois, settling on a prairie farm near Oak- ley in April of 1856. The parents were charter members of the first church organized by the Brethren in Macon County, which is now the Oakley congregation. His ministerial serv- ice was limited because his vocabulary and learning was in the German language. He died August 24, 1869.
LYNN A. BLICKENSTAFF was born near Cerro Gordo, Illinois, February 14, 1889, the son of David and Hannah Heckman Blickenstaff. He was baptized in 1900 at Cerro Gordo. Lynn attended Mount Morris College and La Verne College. He was married to Mary Brubaker of Indiana on May 25, 1912; they have three sons. For eleven years he was cashier of the First National Bank at La Verne, California. In India he had twenty-five years' experience in the field of mission administration and finance; eleven of those years he was manager of the Inter-Mission Business Office, an organization func- LYNN A. BLICKENSTAFF tioning for nearly every denomina- tion carrying on mission work in India. Because of his health he was forced to give up his work in India and returned to America in June 1948.
VERNA MABEL BLICKENSTAFF, the daughter of Levi and Barbara Wagoner Blickenstaff, was born January 31, 1891. After the death of her mother three years later, she lived
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in the home of an uncle and an aunt. Before Verna was ten, her father married Mattie Davis. Verna was baptized by J. W. Lear, January 4, 1903. Follow- ing attendance at Mount Morris Col- lege she spent three years at Bethany Biblical Seminary and took nurses' training at the Illinois Training School for Nurses, graduating as R.N. in 1917. She then spent two years in nursing. Early in 1920 she sailed for India. For a number of years she was a member of the staff of the Dahanu mission hospital, after which she was the school nurse at the Wood- stock school for two years. Then she VERNA M. BLICKENSTAFF was located at Bulsar, where she has charge of the nursing in the dispen- sary and hospital rooms. Very few know of the extra serv- ice she renders in an unassuming manner.
S. S. BLOUGH, a native of Somerset County, Pennsyl- vania, was born on April 27, 1868, the son of Emanuel J. and Sally Brandt Blough. On June 17, 1894, he married Mary Alice Wertz of Johnstown, Pennsylvania; they had three sons and one daughter. He united with the Church of the Brethren on June 12, 1886. Juniata College conferred on him a B.E. degree in 1893; Manchester College, an A.B. in 1915; Bethany Biblical Seminary, a. B.D. in 1917. He taught com- mon schools ten winters, then did pastoral work and Bible teaching at Manchester College, 1911-1918. Also he taught two county normal schools. Elected to the ministry on June 28, 1894, he was ordained to the eldership on May 2, 1902. Brother Blough was pastor at Astoria, Illinois, 1918- 1921, and at Decatur, Illinois, 1921-1924. He has also held pastorates in Northern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsyl-
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vania. Six times he served as a delegate to Standing Com- mittee. He was a member of the General Sunday-School Board, 1914, 1917, 1919, and of the General Ministerial Board, 1921-1925. He has conducted Bible institutes and evangelistic meetings in a number of church districts.
URIAS BLOUGH was born near Hudson, Illinois, March 6, 1872. His father was William Blough of Hooversville, Penn- sylvania; his mother was Mary Magdalene Forney Blough of Berlin, Pennsylvania. He married Delia M. Johnson of Gridley, Illinois, February 17, 1897. One son and three daughters were born to them. In 1893 he was baptized by I. M. Gibson. Nearly two years were spent at Bethany URIAS BLOUGH AND FAMILY Biblical Seminary. While farming at Hudson, he was elected to the office of deacon in December 1903, called to the ministry in 1907, and or- dained to the eldership on November 11, 1911. He was pastor and elder at Spring Run, 1909; Hurricane Creek, 1913; Ro- mine, 1915. From Bethany Seminary he returned as pastor to Hurricane Creek in 1924. He was the pastor at Lakeland, Florida, 1928, and at Martins Creek and Romine, in Southern Illinois, in 1930. His death occurred on January 7, 1941.
ADONIJAH J. BOWERS was born February 9, 1837, in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. He married Ruth Raper of Darlington, Indiana, on August 8, 1859. Ten children were born to them. He united with the Church of the Brethren in 1862, was elected to the ministry in 1863 and ordained to the eldership in 1882. In 1873 he moved to Illinois, locating near St. Joseph in Champaign County, where he engaged
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in farming and church work. He did much preaching and pioneer work in Urbana, Mahomet, Thomasboro and various other places in Southern Illinois. He returned to Indiana about 1898 and died there on September 8, 1912.
PETER BOWERS, son of John and Hannah Emfield Bowers, was born in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, September 29, 1821. He married Mary Brown of Morrison's Cove, Penn- sylvania, on December 4, 1845. Three sons and five daugh- ters were born to them. He united with the Church of the Brethren about 1860 and was elected to the ministry soon after his baptism, while living in Iowa. In 1864 he moved to Henry County, Indiana, and in 1869 to Richland County, Illinois, where he died on February 18, 1922, at the age of one hundred years.
ERNEST EVERETT BOWMAN began his pastoral work at the Virden church in Southern Illinois on September 1, 1949. He came to this district from Roann, Indiana, where he had served as pastor seven years. His parents were William W. and Elnorah Rhinesmith Bowman, both of LaGrange County, Indiana. He was born June 17, 1914, in Elkhart County, Indiana. His marriage to Elsie Miller of Bristol, Indiana, took place on November 28, 1934. They have one son. He was baptized in 1924 and his election to the ministry occurred on September 13, 1941. He was graduated from Manchester College in 1945, and from Bethany Bib- lical Seminary in 1949.
HARRIETT HOWARD BRIGHT, daughter of John and Marga- ret Jenkins Howard, was born in Letcher County, Kentucky, February 14, 1912. She was baptized into the Church of the Brethren by M. A. Whisler at Peoria, Illinois, on Easter Sunday, 1946. She received an A.B. degree from Berea Col- lege, Kentucky, and an M.A. from George Peabody College,
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in Tennessee; she studied one year at Bethany Biblical Sem- inary. For over three years she was a teacher of weaving and the supervisor of the dormitory at Berea College. She taught at various other places in Kentucky, North Carolina and Alabama. Harriett was married to J. Calvin Bright at Berea, Kentucky, May 26, 1945. She was an able assistant to her husband in their pastorate at Peoria, Illinois, 1945- 1946. They joined the missionary staff in China in 1947.
J. CALVIN BRIGHT is the son of J. Homer and Minnie Minerva Flory Bright and was born at Liao Chow, China, on September 19, 1915. He was baptized by Pastor Yin in November 1926. On May 26, 1945, he married Harriett Howard at Berea, Kentucky. He graduated from Berea Col- lege, Kentucky, with a B.S. degree on June 1, 1943, and from Bethany Biblical Seminary with a B.D. on May 26, 1946. He was the religious director in the Japanese relocation center, Amache, Colorado, during the summer of 1944. On May 6, 1945, he was ordained a minister. He served as a student pastor at Elgin, Illinois, during the winter quarter of 1945, and as pastor at Peoria, Illinois, from May 1945 until June 1946, when he was approved by Annual Conference as a missionary to China. In 1947 the Brights went to their work in China.
URIAH S. BRILLHART was born near Summum, Illinois, May 6, 1870. On September 20, 1891, he was married to Lillie Mummert; nine children were born to them. His wife died on January 2, 1908. He united with the Church of the Brethren on September 1, 1897, was elected deacon on September 1, 1906, called to the ministry in 1907, and or- dained an elder on October 29, 1914. In 1910 he moved to Quinter, Kansas. As pastor he served the Pleasant Grove church, Lawrence, Kansas, 1915-1917, and the Dorance church, 1917-1918. He lived near Abilene, Kansas, from
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1918 to 1939; part of this time he was pastor of the Buckeye church. He died June 2, 1939.
B. F. BRITT, a resident of Adams County, Illinois, was called to the ministry in the Liberty church on December 2, 1882. The church was then under the care of Elder Daniel Vaniman. After serving in the Liberty and Loraine congregations a few years, he moved to Barry, in the Hadley Creek church, working for the district mission board.
CHARLES H. BRUBAKER was born on a farm near Virden, Illinois, August 25, 1873, the son of John and Mary Neff Bru- baker. At the age of thirteen he was received into the Pleasant Hill church by bap- tism. In preparation for a career of teaching he attended Illinois State Normal at Bloomington. After teaching for a number of years in Illi- nois, he went to California in 1896, taught two years at San- ta Barbara, then entered the state university at Berkeley, from which he graduated in 1906. In 1899 the Los Angeles congregation called him to the ministry. In 1906 he went to India; on the same boat was Ella Miller of Nappanee, Indi- CHARLES BRUBAKER ana, who was going to the same field. On September 4, 1907, Charles and Ella were married at Vada, India, where they continued to work until his sickness and death in October 1910. He was the first missionary of the Church of the Brethren to die while in service.
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CORA CRIPE BRUBAKER, daughter of George W. and Bar- bara Shively Cripe, was born near Lafayette, Indiana, March 19, 1877. When she was eight years old the family moved to Cerro Gordo, Illinois, where she was baptized when twelve years old. She attended several Bible school ses- sions at Mount Morris College, and also attended Moody Bible Institute. She assisted Alice J. Boone in the Chicago mission during the winter of 1893. The years 1894-1905 were spent in the Hastings Street Church of the Brethren mission. On July 26, 1905, she was mar- ried to Dr. O. G. Brubaker. They had CORA CRIPE BRUBAKER one son and one daughter. In 1913 the Brubakers went to the China mission field, where they were stationed at Liao Chou until they returned to America in 1920. They now live at North Man- chester, Indiana.
D. M. BRUBAKER, the youngest of the six children of Daniel and Harriet Brubaker, was born in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, October 22, 1858. He married Mary Bowser on November 23, 1879; to them four children were born. On January 20, 1878, he united with the Church of the Brethren. He was called to the ministry November 8, 1882, in the Chippewa church, near Orrville, Ohio. On June 16, 1900, he was ordained at Liberty, Illinois, where he had oversight of the church until 1907 and was resident pastor during that time. He also served in pastorates at Williams- port, Indiana, and Ashland and Wooster, Ohio. The last few years of his life were spent in semi-invalidism at Orrville, Ohio, where he died on July 7, 1943.
EVERETT E. BRUBAKER, son of Samuel S. and Mary Ann Harshbarger Brubaker, was born in Macoupin County, Illi-
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nois, October 8, 1877. He married Laura E. Lear of Girard, Illinois, on January 25, 1899. To them were born two sons and four daughters. He was baptized by C. C. Gibson on February 11, 1888. With the exception of a few years in Texas, he farmed near Virden, Illinois. He was elected deacon at Virden in October 1905. A member of the district mission board of Southern Illinois for twenty-seven years, he served as secretary for a number of years.
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