USA > Illinois > Church of the Brethren in southern Illinois > Part 12
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EZRA H. BRUBAKER, son of Moses E. and Susannah Grisso Brubaker, was born in Roanoke County, Virginia, February 2, 1865. He was baptized by George W. Gibson on Novem- ber 9, 1889. Elma R. Brubaker of Girard, Illinois, became his wife on December 27, 1888. Two sons and two daughters were born to them. His second marriage was to Etta Haynes Shively of Long Beach, California, on March 17, 1930. He was elected to the ministry in the Pleasant Hill church near Virden, Illinois, on May 1, 1907, and was ordained to the eldership in 1924. From 1907 to 1913 he served as a farmer- minister at Girard, Illinois, and from 1913 to 1930 at Virden. Since 1930 a resident of Long Beach, California, he has worked in the church there as a minister and elder.
HARVEY A. BRUBAKER, son of S. S. and Mary A. Bru- baker, was born at Virden, Illinois, April 2, 1886. He gradu- ated from Bethany Bible School and from Manchester Col- lege, and also attended the University of California. On August 15, 1912, he married Iva Lula Furrey at Columbiana, Ohio; they had three sons. On June 28, 1913, he was called to the ministry in the Zion Hill church, Ohio; in 1921 he was ordained. For one year he was pastor at New Philadelphia, Ohio; four years at Akron, Ohio; and nearly six years at Pasadena, California. In September 1925 he became pastor of the Oakland mission, California. He died in 1927.
ISAAC W. BRUBAKER, son of Abraham and Elizabeth
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Eikenberry Brubaker, was born August 15, 1861, in Carroll County, Indiana. He was baptized by J. C. Murray about 1887. He married Rebecca Flora of Carroll County, Indiana, on March 28, 1885. Three sons and five daughters were born to them. One winter was spent at Mount Morris College and one at Manchester College. He was a farmer. Shortly after their marriage the Brubakers moved near Cerro Gordo, Illinois, and lived in the vicinity of Cerro Gordo and La Place until 1900, when they moved to Prairie City, Iowa. He was elected to the ministry at La Place in 1894 and or- dained to the eldership in 1901. As a farmer-minister he served at La Place until 1900; was pastor and elder at Prairie City, Iowa, 1900-1910; pastor and elder, Grundy Center, Iowa, 1911-1916; pastor and elder, Prairie City, Iowa, 1917-1926; elder at Des Moines and Ankeny, Iowa, 1926-1937; pastor at Brooklyn, Iowa, 1935 to December 17, 1937, the date of his death. Three times he served on Stand- ing Committee. He gave much successful evangelistic serv- ice to the church.
JOHN H. BRUBAKER, son of Jacob and Anna Frantz Brubaker, was born in Clark County, Ohio, May 15, 1852. About 1872 he united with the Church of the Brethren. He married Lizzie Neher of Virden, Illinois, in February 1875; two sons and three daughters were born to them. His second mar- riage was to Elizabeth Howe of Johns- town, Pennsylvania, in June 1909. He farmed in Macoupin County near Virden. Elected to the office of dea- J. H. BRUBAKER con in the Pleasant Hill church, Feb- ruary 10, 1883, he was called to the ministry, October 1, 1887, and ordained to the eldership in
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1896. It is known to many that he gave to the District of Southern Illinois many years of faithful service, devoting much time to preaching throughout the district and at many mission points; he was for a long time the elder-in- charge of his home church and served on various district committees. Four times he represented the district on Standing Committee. He will be remembered because of his tender, appealing voice and his pleasing temperament. On December 17, 1936, he died at his home in Virden.
JONATHAN BRUBAKER was born in Clark County, Ohio, September 14, 1829. He united with the Church of the Breth- ren in this county when a young man. In March 1850 he married Susan Frantz; one son and five daughters were born to them. They came to Illinois by covered wagon in 1864, settling on a farm near Girard. He helped build the Pleasant Hill church house, was one of the early ministers of the congregation and also did preaching in Cass and Adams counties. He died August 1, 1921.
SAMUEL F. BRUBAKER, the son of John and Susan Flory Brubaker, was born near Salem, Virginia, in 1837. His wife was Martha Ann Obenchain; seven sons and two daugh- ters were born to them. He had sufficient training for teaching in the rural schools. He was elected to the min- istry in the Macoupin Creek church, June 17, 1876, and gave most of his ministerial service to that congregation. Here he passed away in 1910.
SAMUEL S. BRUBAKER was born in Darke County, Ohio, February 5, 1855, the son of Jacob and Anna Frantz Bru- baker. In his youth he was baptized by Elder John Metzger. He married Mary Ann Harshbarger on September 28, 1876; three sons and three daughters were born to them. A farmer by occupation, living near Virden, Illinois, he was elected
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deacon in October 1890; was a member of the district mis- sion board from 1896 to 1904; a member of the district trus- tee board from 1904 to 1935; and was a member of the building committees for the Girard and Virden churches as well as for the Home at Girard. He died on September 27, 1937.
CYRUS BUCHER was born near Cornwall, Pennsylvania, July 28, 1845. After reaching the age of seventeen he taught seven terms of school in winter and worked on a farm in summer. On August 29, 1867, he mar- ried Barbara Dohner; to them two children were born. She died March 1, 1870. On November 27, 1870, he married Leah Gibbel. They became the parents of twelve children. He lived on his father's farm near Reist- ville, Pennsylvania, for twelve years, until 1882, when he brought his family to Fulton County, Illinois. Immedi- ately he purchased a farm for a home, then added other land afterwards and became an extensive farmer and CYRUS BUCHER orchardist, having at one time seventy-five acres in fruit. In 1868 he united with the Church of the Brethren, was elected to the ministry in 1883 and was ordained an elder in 1904. He served thirty-seven years as a minister in the Wood- land and Astoria congregations. An earnest Sunday-school worker, he organized Sunday schools in schoolhouses be- fore he was permitted to hold them in church houses. For seven years he supported a missionary in India. Seventy of his descendants are members of the Church of the Breth- ren. He died at Astoria on January 22, 1921.
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SAMUEL G. BUCHER, son of Elder Cyrus S. and Leah Gibbel Bucher, was born near Reistville, Pennsylvania, June 18, 1872. When ten years old he came with his parents to Astoria, Illinois. On October 7, 1894, he married Mary Elgin, who died November 4, 1932, They had ten children. He attended Mount Morris College in 1890. For four years he taught in the rural schools of Fulton County. He was a farmer and fruit- grower, having at one time forty acres in orchard. On November 29, 1894, he and his wife united with the Church of the Brethren. On September 11, 1900, he was elected to the ministry and on November 17, S. G. BUCHER 1919, was ordained to the eldership. He served in the free ministry for a number of years in the Woodland and Astoria congrega- tions, also at a number of mission points in the district. For a time he was pastor of the North Solomon church, Kansas. He died June 30, 1937.
IDA BUCKINGHAM, daughter of David C. and Susie Wagner Buckingham, was born near Oakley, Illinois, August 7, 1886. She was baptized by A. G. Cross- white on September 18, 1900. After at- tending Mount Morris College two years she taught for three years in the public schools. The years 1910-1913 were spent at Bethany Biblical Seminary; she re- ceived a B.S.L. degree in 1921. In 1913 she went to Sweden and served there until 1929, when she returned to her
IDA BUCKINGHAM
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home church at Oakley, where she now lives. Since then she has been in continuous work in her home church and most of the time has been a member of the district women's work cabinet; at present she is district director of peace. Since 1944 she has been a member of the district historical committee.
WILLIAM I. BUCKINGHAM, son of Frederick and Mary Ann Snyder Buckingham, was born near Oakley, Illinois, January 31, 1861. Early in life he united with the church at Oakley and was baptized by Elder Joseph Hendricks. On December 25, 1884, he married Catharine S. Nickey, of Car- lisle, Pennsylvania. Two sons and two daughters were born to them. He attended two winter Bible terms at Mount Mor- ris College. He was elected to the office of deacon at La Place, Illinois, in 1894; called to the ministry, December 7, 1897; ordained to the eldership, February 17, 1906. He farmed in Illinois and also at Prairie City, Iowa. His min- isterial services were as follows: Worden, Wisconsin, 1906- 1908; Prairie City, Iowa, 1908-1917; Union Ridge, Iowa, 1917- 1923; elder at Prairie City, 1923-1941. He served once on Standing Committee. His death occurred on March 24, 1941. The family was unusually self-sacrificing and gave liberally to the church.
SOLOMON BUCKLEW, son of Philip and Kathryn Horner Bucklew, was born August 25, 1840, in Preston County, West Virginia. In 1859 he was baptized in the Cheat River near Briar Mountain by Elder S. A. Fike. His first marriage was to Elizabeth Strawser of Eglon, West Virginia, in 1862. Two sons and one daughter were born to them. His second marriage was to Mrs. Mary Sterner of Markleysburg, Penn- sylvania, in 1914. He was a miller and blacksmith in West Virginia and a farmer near Canton, Illinois. Elected to the ministry in 1863, he was ordained to the eldership in 1864,
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serving as follows: 1860-1872, pastor in the mountains near Brandonville, West Virginia; 1872-1885, pastor of the Salem and Markleysburg churches; 1885-1910, elder and pastor at Canton, Illinois; 1915-1923, elder and pastor at Morgantown, West Virginia. Also he held many revival meetings in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Illinois; he baptized one hundred thirty-five in one year. Nine times a member of Standing Committee, he served on many district and Annual Meeting committees, and was elder-in-charge of a number of churches. He loved to sing and preach, and often ad- dressed open meetings at Annual Conference. A great de- fender of the faith, he could hold his own with the best. His death occurred at Morgantown, West Virginia, on Feb- ruary 18, 1925.
JOHN F. BURTON was born in Madison County, Kentucky, January 29, 1881, the son of G. B. and Cornelia Goins Bur- ton. He was married to Luella M. Robinson of Mansfield, Illinois, on October 12, 1902. A second marriage was to Emily D. Dyer of Chicago, Illinois, on January 12, 1918. He has three sons and two daughters. About two years were spent in Bethany Biblical Seminary. Baptized by T. A. Robinson in 1903, he was elected to the ministry in Novem- ber 1907 and ordained to the eldership in December 1917. In a number of ways he has served the church: minister, Blue Ridge church, Mansfield, Illinois, 1907-1910; pastor, Indian Creek church, Maxwell, Iowa, 1911-1912; pastor, Des Moines Valley church, Elkhart, Iowa, 1917-1921; pastor and elder, Greene, Iowa, 1914-1915, 1921-1926; pastor, Trot- wood, Ohio, 1926-1932; pastor, Lena, Illinois, 1933-1942; dis- trict supervisor, Northeastern Kansas, 1942-1944; pastor, Wiley, Colorado, 1946 -. Three times he has been a Stand- ing Comitteeman. He has conducted over one hundred re- vival meetings.
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CHARLES HOMER CAMERON began his pastoral work in the Canton church in Southern Illinois on September 1, 1949. He came to this district from the Grand Rapids church in Michigan, where he served as pastor for four years. His par- ents were John B. R. and Flor- ence Virginia Cameron. He was born January 23, 1892, at Salem, Virginia. His marriage to Orda I. Hanson took place on September 13, 1924, at Granite Falls, Min- nesota. Both he and Mrs. Camer- on taught in public schools and were engaged in commerce and travel previous to their active pastoral work. He attended Daleville College in Virginia, and the Sorbonne, a part of C. H. CAMERON I'Universite de Paris, Paris, France. He was baptized in the Peters Creek congregation, near Salem, Virginia, on July 9, 1909; in 1916 he was called to the ministry. His ordination to the eldership took place on January 20, 1940, at Long Beach, California. As pastor he served the Waterford church, Northern California, from 1940 to 1945. He has filled responsible positions of leadership in the districts of Southern California and Arizona, Northern California, and Michigan. He has represented each of these districts on Standing Committee and has been moderator of the district conference of each.
JOSEPH ELMER CAMPBELL, son of James and Nellie Ann Foster Campbell, was born in Kansas, December 16, 1909. Hazel Mae Groff of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, became his wife on January 6, 1931. Two sons and three daughters were
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born to them. He was baptized on July 25, 1925; elected deacon in 1932; elected a minister, September 29, 1940; ordained an elder in October 1942. As part-time pastor he served the Romine church, 1940-1941, and as full-time pas- tor, 1941-1945. From 1945 to 1947 he was the pastor of the New Hope church in Southern Indiana. Since 1947 he has been pastor of the Reedley church, Northern California.
GEORGE G. CANFIELD is the son of Adrian M. and Amanda Northrop Canfield; he was born at Belleville, Kansas, on July 4, 1885. Of Methodist parentage, he became a mem- ber of the Methodist Church in 1904. In March 1908 he united with the Church of the Brethren. On October 17, 1906, he married S. Elizabeth Kinzie of Belleville, Kansas. They had two daughters. Brother Canfield's second mar- riage was to L. Mabel Pence, on May 26, 1936. He studied at McPherson College. The Belleville church called him to the ministry on May 21, 1910; he was ordained to the eldership in the Hickory Grove church, Northern Illinois, on October 6, 1919. His pastoral experience has been varied: Summerfield, Kansas, 1913; Hickory Grove church, 1918- 1920; Freeport, Illinois, 1920-1926; Rockford, Illinois, 1926- 1928; Marion, Ohio, 1928-1933; Plymouth, Indiana, 1933-1938; Richmond, Virginia, 1943-1944; Astoria, Illinois, 1944-1949. From 1938 to 1943 he served as evangelist for the General Mission Board. He has conducted nearly two hundred evan- gelistic meetings in thirty-one church districts, preaching over five thousand sermons.
LOUISA MABEL PENCE CANFIELD, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. J. Pence, was born on November 16, 1891, at Lime- stone, Tennessee. Early in life she became a member of the Church of the Brethren. Attending Washington College in Tennessee, there she completed the four-year Bible course in 1909. In Chicago, she studied voice with Dr. Clippinger;
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for several years she was a member of the Madrigal Club, and she gave vocal concerts in a number of states. For al- most fifteen years, Mabel Pence taught at Bethany Biblical Seminary, most of the time as head of the department of music. After her marriage to Elder George Canfield on May 26, 1936, her musical ability was especially valuable as she assisted her husband in five years of evangelism (1938- 1943) and in pastoral work.
ALVA GLENN CARR was born in Davis County, Iowa, on July 19, 1886; he was the son of Ora G. and Adeline Grant Coons Carr. On December 24, 1905, he married Jessie Ogden of Udell, Iowa. Two sons and two daughters were born to them. In 1916 he was baptized by Elder W. W. Glotfelty. He was elected to the deaconship in 1919 and to the ministry in 1921; in 1927 he was ordained to the eldership. In 1924 he ministered to the Middleburg church, Florida; from 1924- 1928 to the Lakeland church, Florida; from 1928 to 1944 to the Libertyville church, Southern Iowa; from 1944 until his death on June 29, 1949, to the Allison Prairie church, South- ern Illinois, during which time he served as elder-in-charge of the La Motte Prairie and Walnut Grove congregations. Twice he represented his district on Standing Committee.
ELLIS F. CASLOW, son of Stephen T. and Rebecca Fitz Caslow, was born in Guthrie County, Iowa, November 27, 1875. His marriage to Anna L. Hesse of Guthrie County took place on December 29, 1897. They had two sons. He attended Bethany Biblical Seminary, 1911-1912. For about twelve years, until 1910, he farmed, and from 1912 to 1914 he did carpentry work. On January 30, 1898, he united with the church and was baptized by Moses Deardorff. In 1902 he was elected to the ministry and in 1908 was ordained to the eldership. A summary of his ministerial activities fol- lows: pastor, Panora, Iowa, 1899-1914; pastor, Grand Rapids,
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Michigan, 1914-1918 and again, 1920-1921; evangelist and fieldman for Michigan, 1920-1921; pastor, Sterling, Illinois, 1922-1924; district fieldman and pastor at Woodland, Mich- igan, 1924-1925; pastor, Astoria, Illinois, 1925-1927; pastor, Virden, Illinois, 1927-1942. In 1942 he was forced to retire because of ill-health. Other contributions to the work of the church included serving as a member of Standing Com- mittee five times and as district moderator and district reading clerk a number of times. Of his almost forty years of ministerial service, twenty-six years were devoted to the full-time ministry and twelve to the free ministry. In all these labors he was encouraged and helped by his faith- ful wife. His death occurred at the Home in Girard, Illinois, on October 4, 1949.
SAMUEL EDGAR CASTER was born in Decatur County, Iowa, June 13, 1899. His parents were John T. and Sarah Jane Eshelman Caster. He married Lorena Elizabeth Owens on July 15, 1930; to them were born two daugh- ters. On October 10, 1916, he was baptized by Elder A. L. Sears. One year was spent in Mount Morris College and later he took some work in Bethany Biblical Seminary. He operated a canning factory for twenty-four years. Li- censed to the ministry on August 21, 1937, he was in- stalled in the Fairview church, Southern Iowa, on July 7, 1940. He was the as- SAMUEL E. CASTER AND WIFE sistant pastor about five years
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in the Fairview church, Southern Iowa, supply pastor from January to June, 1945, in the Libertyville church, Southern Iowa; pastor of the Liberty and Camp Creek churches, Southern Illinois, from 1945 to 1950. The Casters have gone to Darlow, Kansas, to take charge of the Brethren Home.
DEWEY B. CAVE was born in Ogle County, Illinois, on May 4, 1898, the son of John F. and Mary Peterson Cave. He was baptized by C. Walter Warstler in March 1926. On December 25, 1920, he married Florence E. Long of Leaf River, Illinois. They had two sons and one daughter. His training included three years of the Howe Study Course in Ministerial Preparation and one year at Bethany Training School. He was licensed to the ministry in 1926, installed in 1927, and ordained an elder in 1935. A condensed state- DEWEY B. CAVE AND WIFE ment of his work in the church follows: pastor, Garri- son, Iowa, 1926-1928; pastor, Yellow Creek, Northern Illinois, 1929-1934; pastor, Liberty, Southern Illinois, 1934-1945; pastor and elder, Camp Creek, 1940-1945; elder, Astoria, 1941 -; vice-president, Adams County Church Council, 1940-1945; ministerial secretary, Southern District of Illinois, 1944 -; member, board of ad- ministration, 1945 -; superintendent of the Home, 1945 -.
ERNEST C. CAWLEY is probably better known for his connection with the Church of the Brethren in Canada than for his connection with Southern Illinois. He was born in
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Woodford County, Illinois, March 21, 1888, the son of John William and Etta Ekiss Cawley. He married Pearl A. Switzer of Roanoke, Illinois, on May 27, 1909. Three sons and three daughters were born to them. He attended Mount Morris College and later took reading courses from the University of Alberta. He was baptized by Elder J. W. Switzer in May 1905, elected to the ministry in the Panther Creek church in May 1907, and ordained to the eldership in 1928. As a free minister he assisted in the Panther Creek church. As a part-time pastor he worked for a few years in the Walnut Grove and Martins Creek churches, Southern Illinois. For almost thirty years he was active in the min- istry where he lived in Western Canada, until his death in 1949.
WALTER SCOTT COFFMAN was born in Fairplay, Mary- land, December 4, 1898, the son of Charles D. and Estell Elizabeth Shafer Coffman. He was baptized by George E. Yoder on November 19, 1911. He married Edna Clark of Yakima, Washington, on August 17, 1930; they have one son and one daughter. His educational achievements in- clude: graduation from Blue Ridge College in 1923; gradu- ate work at the University of West Virginia and North- western University; graduation from Bethany Biblical Sem- inary in 1936. He was elected to the ministry on March 19, 1919, and ordained an elder in 1934. He taught five years in high school and held a summer pastorate in Michigan (1935). His full-time pastorates have been: Yakima, Wash- ington, 1928-1934; Cerro Gordo, Illinois, 1936-1939; Fruitland, Idaho, 1939-1943; Glendale, Arizona, since 1943. Twice he has been a delegate to Standing Committee.
S. L. COVER, son of John C. and Mary A. Bucklew Cover, was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in 1885. He was baptized by Silas Hoover in 1899. On August 19, 1908, he
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married Dulcie L. Williams of Canton, Illinois. They had two sons and one daughter. He attended Manchester Col- lege, 1919-1921, and Bethany Biblical Seminary, 1929-1933. For seven years he taught school. Elected to the ministry on September 1, 1905, he was ordained an elder in 1907. His thirty-six years of pastoral service were begun at Canton in the Southern District of Illinois during the years 1907- 1910. Later he served pastorates in Indiana, Ohio and Iowa; was elder of several churches and once was on the Stand- ing Committee.
GEORGE W. CRIPE, son of David and Anna Kreider Cripe, was born in Darke County, Ohio, May 23, 1833. He was bap- tized by David Clark in 1858. On December 25, 1852, he married Barbara Shively of New Paris, Indiana. They had four sons and eight daughters. Three times he was drafted for military service, but each time he parted with all his pos- sessions rather than sacrifice his principles of peace. He organized the first Sunday school at Fairview, Indiana, and also the first Sunday school at Cerro Gordo, Illinois. After locating near Cerro Gordo in Novem- ber of 1883 he built the State Bank building in 1884, a store building in G. W. CRIPE 1887, numerous dwellings in the town and country, and the Alli- son Prairie church house in Lawrence County in 1878. Elect- ed to the office of deacon in 1855 and to the ministry in 1857, he was ordained an elder in 1860. He labored at the follow- ing places: New Paris, Indiana, 1860-1870; Washington church, 1870-1876, minister and elder; Fairview, Indiana, 1876-1883, minister and elder; Milmine and Cerro Gordo
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churches, Southern Illinois, elder, 1883-1885; Cerro Gordo, 1885-1901. He was a very successful evangelist in Indiana and Illinois during fall, winter and spring months, and also did much mission work for the district board, at one time having charge of four points in the Adams County mission field. A number of times he served on Standing Committee. He died in Cerro Gordo on July 22, 1901.
ISAAC H. CRIST was born near Springfield, Ohio, Oc- tober 24, 1852. On September 3, 1863, his parents, John and Salome Frantz Crist, moved to Virden, Illinois. On March 7, 1871, he united with the Pleasant Hill church. He married Sarah Brubaker, of Girard, Illinois, on December 31, 1874. Seven children were born to them. He moved to the Clear Creek church, Christian County, February 25, 1879. On September 14, 1880, he was called to the ministry. In March 1881 he located near Olathe, Kansas. On November 24, 1888, he was ordained an elder by Elders Andrew Hutch- ison and S. S. Mohler. He opened up mission work in Kan- sas City, moved there in 1898, devoted all his time to it, organized the First church in November 1894, and con- tinued his work there for twenty-six years.
NOAH SYLVESTER DALE, a native of Darke County, Ohio, was born on November 3, 1855, the son of Paul and Anna Heckman Dale. He married Ella Heckman of Livingston County, Illinois, on January 27, 1878. Three sons and four daughters were born to them. Elected to the ministry on October 1, 1894, he served as a farmer-preacher at Cornell, and at the Walnut Grove church in Richland County, Illi- nois. He died in Edwards County, Illinois, January 25, 1938.
HENRY DANNER was born in York County, Pennsyl- vania, October 9, 1806. He was elected to the ministry by the Pigeon Hill church, Pennsylvania. In 1865 he came to
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