USA > Illinois > Church of the Brethren in southern Illinois > Part 16
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BIOGRAPHIES
GALEN T. LEHMAN was born in Lee County, Illinois, May 20, 1897, the son of Ira and Mary Trostle Lehman. On June 6, 1922, he married June Puterbaugh of Lanark, Illi- nois; one son and one daughter were born to them. He was baptized by Elder Cyrus Suter on July 4, 1910. He holds an A.B. from Mount Morris College (1921) and a B.D. from Bethany Biblical Seminary (1926). He worked as fieldman for Mount Morris College in 1920 and from 1930 to 1932. These churches have had the benefit of his pastoral ministry: Batavia, Illinois, 1923-1926; Monitor church, near Conway, Kansas, 1926-1930; Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1932-1937; Springfield, Illinois, 1937-1942; Huntington, Indiana, 1942- 1949. At present he is the associate secretary of the Central Region. He has been active in other church interests, serv- ing in many capacities: evangelist in numerous churches; Standing Committeeman three times; member of the district boards of Southwest Kansas, Middle Iowa, Southern Illinois, and Middle Indiana; director of young people's camps at Lewistown, Illinois, and Camp Mack, Indiana; chairman of the regional council of the Central Region; director of An- nual Conference (1945) ; secretary of the Pastoral Association of our de- nomination; elder of five different churches; moderator of district con- ferences; trustee of McPherson Col- lege.
CHARLES ALBERT LEWIS was born at Lizton, Indiana, December 5, 1857, the son of Joseph and Nancy Lewis. He united with the Church of the Brethren in Nebraska about 1891. His marriage to Martha Frances Johnson of Indiana took place on June 1, 1880. Two sons and two daughters were
C. A. LEWIS
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born to them. In Custer County, Nebraska, he lived on a farm which was obtained under the Homestead law. He moved to Farmer City, Illinois, and later to Champaign. Elected to the ministry in Nebraska, he was ordained to the eldership after coming to Champaign. He assisted in church work in York County, Nebraska, conducted revival meetings in various churches in Southern Illinois, and was instrumental in opening up mission work in Champaign and in organizing the church there, which he served as the first pastor. He died at Champaign on April 15, 1930.
NORA ARNOLD LICHTY, the daughter of John and Mary Hendricks Arnold, was born near La Place, Illinois, January 17, 1880. She was baptized by George Cripe in 1892. At- tending Manchester College, she worked on the Bible course which she later finished at Mount Morris College. While there she was a leader in the Missionary Reading Circle. In 1899 she received her first experience in actual mission work when she helped for a short time in the Chicago mission. In 1903 she went to the India mission field. On October 20, 1904, she was married to Daniel J. Lichty. They established the work at Umalla. In NORA LICHTY the sixteen years of her connection with the India mission work she was most faithful to duty, remaining at her post even when it seemed that every health condition was against her. The Lichtys were at home on furlough attending Mount Morris College when she became ill with influenza and passed away on December 12, 1918.
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BIOGRAPHIES
WILLIAM R. LIERLY, a native of North Carolina, was born on August 16, 1818. With his parents he came to Union County, Illinois, in 1821. In 1830 he located in Adams County. On October 12, 1843, he married Penina Hendricks, who died February 20, 1895. Eleven children were born to them. He became a Christian early in life, and was a dili- gent Bible student. In 1850 he was called to the ministry. The family resided nearly five miles from the first church built in Adams County, and for twenty-five years he and his wife seldom missed a service. He officiated at three hundred marriages, preached over four hundred thirty funerals, and baptized nearly one hundred persons. On De- cember 2, 1905, he died near Clayton, Illinois.
HENRY LILLIGH was born in Clarion County, Pennsyl- vania, May 1, 1849, the son of Jacob and Kathryn Mahle Lilligh. He married Harriet Morey of Mulberry Grove, Illi- nois, on March 17, 1872; three sons and three daughters were born to them. He was baptized by Elder John H. Goodman on May 6, 1877. The Mulberry Grove church called him to the ministry in 1877. He moved to Mulberry Grove in 1898 and to Decatur, Illinois, in 1920. In his early ministry in the district he served as elder-in-charge of a number of congre- gations. Later he identified himself with the Dunkard Brethren. He died at Fort Wayne, Indiana, January 7, 1940.
MATHIAS LINGENFELTER was born to Jacob and Sarah Claar Lingenfelter in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, on February 21, 1833. He was baptized by David Zook in 1875. On July 12, 1854, he married Rebecca Evans in Lewistown, Illinois. Six sons and six daughters were born to them. He was a farmer and blacksmith near Canton, Illinois. After being elected to the ministry about 1875, he served in the free ministry in the Cole Creek (now Canton) church. He died in Fulton County, Illinois, in 1904.
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MICHAEL LYON, the father of Thomas D., was born in Grant County, West Virginia, on September 26, 1793. Ac- cording to John Kline's diary, page 261 in Life of John Kline, by Benjamin Funk, Michael Lyon .was established (ordained) in 1849 in the Greenland congregation, West Vir- ginia. From Foster Bittinger's History of the Church of the Brethren in the First District of West Virginia, it is known that he lived at Hudson, in the District of Southern Illinois, in 1865. He was a charter member of the Hudson church at the time of the organization (1865) and was the first elder- in-charge. He died at Hudson on March 11, 1880.
THOMAS D. LYON was born in Grant County, West Vir- ginia, March 3, 1821, the son of Michael and Louisa Stingley Lyon. On October 26, 1843, he married Mary Clark; four sons and five daughters were born to them. He was a farmer and a blacksmith at Hudson, Illinois, having come west about 1865. At the time of the organization of the Hudson congre- gation he was a resident minister. He was elected a deacon on May 21, 1849, and later called to the ministry in the Green- land congregation, West Virginia. From 1867 to 1901 he was elder-in-charge of the Hudson church. Always active in the work of the district, he walked great distances to preach in the various churches. Twice he served on Standing Com- mittee. He died at Hudson on July 3, 1902.
MARTIN J. MCCLURE, a native of Virginia, was born on October 8, 1842. During the Civil War he served some time in the Army of the South. He was married in Virginia to Mollie Kelley; six sons and three daughters came into their home. Elected to the deaconship in the Fall Creek church, Indiana, on June 2, 1869, and called to the ministry in the same church, November 7, 1871, he was advanced to the eldership in Christian County, Illinois, August 25, 1883. He moved to Greene County, Missouri, in 1876, to Richland
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BIOGRAPHIES
County, Illinois, in 1880, then back to Christian County, and later, in 1891, to the Oakley church. Here he farmed and served in the free ministry; he was elder-in-charge for ten years. His preaching was strongly doctrinal and his style of discourse was argumentative in character. A leader in district meetings and Annual Meetings, he served in various offices, was much used in committee work, and served on Standing Committee five times. Later in life he gave up his fellowship with the church. He died in Decatur, Illinois, on August 10, 1921.
GRANT T. McGUIRE was born in Madison County, Indi- ana, February 6, 1895. His parents were Melvill C. and Cora E. Bedel McGuire. He married Lula M. Wolfe of Coyle, Oklahoma, on September 5, 1913; one daughter was born to them. He united with the Church of the Brethren on Novem- ber 11, 1906, and was baptized by Elder Luther Bedel. He was elected to the ministry in 1915 and ordained as an elder in 1928. From the Chicago Union Theological College he received a B.Th. degree and from Bethany Biblical Seminary a B.D. He farmed in Oklahoma from 1913 to 1925, and since then has given most of his time to the church. As a summer pastor he served the churches at Sheldon, Iowa, in 1931; Decatur, Illinois, in 1936; Mount Morris, Illinois, in 1937. For longer periods he has worked in these offices; part-time pastor, Panther Creek church, Illinois, 1925-1927; pastor, Canton, Illinois, 1927-1930; college and seminary student doing some student pastoral work, 1930-1933; pastor, Argos, Indiana, 1933-1935; pastor, Pasadena, California, 1937-1943; regional executive secretary associate, Pacific Coast Region, 1943-1945; pastor, Rocky Ford, Colorado, 1945-1948; pastor, Oakland, California, 1948 -. Once he represented his dis- trict on Standing Committee.
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H. B. MARTIN, son of William E. and Sarah Jackson Mar- tin, was born in Hancock County, Indiana, on January 22, 1883. He married Mary Estella Wisehart on April 15, 1903; one son and two daughters came into their home. He was baptized by David Richerson in 1903, elected minister in 1903, and ordained an elder in 1916. His service to the church included these assignments: pastor, Summitville, Indiana, 1914; pastor, Virden, Illinois, 1921-1928; pastor, Oakland church, Gettysburg, Ohio, 1928-1935; superintendent of the Old Folks' Home, Middletown, Indiana, four years; superin- tendent of the Brethren Home at Darlow, Kansas, four years; superintendent of the Home for the Aged at Timberville, Vir- ginia, two years. He died in Darke County, Ohio, on March 3, 1935.
B. F. MASTERSON was born at Mastersonville, Pennsyl- vania, February 20, 1848, the son of Joseph and Anna Stauffer Masterson. He was baptized in the Chiques congregation, Pennsylvania, in 1869. Elizabeth Engle became his wife on September 30, 1867; there were nine children born to them. He was elected to the office of deacon in 1880, to the ministry in 1884, and to the eldership on May 20, 1911. He moved to the Sugar Creek church, Sangamon County, Illinois, in 1876, and to the La Verne church, California, in 1891. From 1898 to 1900 he was engaged in Bible teaching and evangelistic work in Pennsylvania. He returned to Inglewood, California, in 1901, and five years later moved to Long Beach; when the church was organized there he served as pastor. He died in Long Beach on September 9, 1936.
JAMES MONROE MASTERSON, son of Samuel and Martha Bishop Masterson, both of Pennsylvania, was born at Fred- erick City, Maryland, June 24, 1867. He married Fannie B. Gibbel of Girard, Illinois, on February 22, 1899. She passed away September 25, 1947. To them were born one son and
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BIOGRAPHIES
three daughters. He attended Illinois State Normal and Mount Morris College. He taught in the rural schools seven years and farmed in Sangamon County, Illinois, thirty-five years. Uniting with the Church of the Brethren in early life, he was elected to the ministry in 1896 and ordained to the eldership in 1910. His ministerial service was largely in the Sugar Creek church in the free ministry and the elder- ship, but he also assisted at Virden, Illinois, and in various lines of district work. His present residence is Pacific Pali- sades, California.
IDA METZGER, daughter of Isaac and Susan Shively Metz- ger, was born near Cerro Gordo, Illinois, October 21, 1895. She was baptized in the Cerro Gordo church when about twelve years old. In 1908 she moved with her parents to Califor- nia. After attending La Verne Col- lege some time she received an A.B. from Manchester College in 1919. In 1920 she began medical study at the University of Michi- gan Medical School, Ann Arbor, and graduated in 1924 with the M.D. degree. One year, 1924-1925, was spent in the St. Francis hos- pital in San Francisco. Dr. Metzger went to India in 1925, giving med- ical service in the Dahanu mission hospital. Returning to America in 1931, she rendered outstanding IDA METZGER service in the State Hospital, Ypsilanti, Michigan, and in the Brethren service program, Elgin, Illinois. She is now living in La Verne, California.
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JOHN METZGER, son of Jacob and Mary Butterbaugh Metzger, was born in Blair County, Pennsylvania, Decem- ber 20, 1807. When he was twelve years old he moved near Dayton, Ohio, with his parents. On July 31, 1828, he was married to Hannah Ulrey in Montgomery County, Ohio; soon after their marriage they were both baptized. In 1834 they moved to Tippecanoe County, Indiana. In 1835 he was elected to the ministry and in 1843 was ordained as an elder. He moved near Cerro Gordo, Illinois, in 1861 and devoted much of his time to preaching. He went for miles to fill ap- pointments in localities where there were but few members, making most of these trips on horseback; sometimes he would walk rather than disappoint a congregation. Through his preaching hundreds of people came into the church. He could fluently read and speak both German and English. Sometimes he would preach in English about forty min- utes, then excuse himself to the English part of the con- gregation and preach in German. He was the moderator of the district meeting of Southern Illinois for fifteen years, served on many district committees, and was a member of the Standing Committee sixteen times. In 1878 he built a meetinghouse in Cerro Gordo at his own expense, and, in 1881, moved from the farm into Cerro Gordo. His second marriage was to Permelia Wolfe in 1889. While his residence was maintained in Cerro Gordo, the late winters of his life were spent at La Verne, California. He had preached in nearly all the principal cities between the Atlantic and the Pacific. He died in Cerro Gordo, on May 25, 1896.
JOHN WILBERT METZGER was born in Cerro Gordo, Illinois, on August 26, 1896, to John B. and Amanda Wagoner Metz- ger. On November 27, 1919, he was united in marriage to Pauline Price of Mount Morris, Illinois; they have one son and one daughter. He became a member of the Church of the Brethren in Cerro Gordo on October 27, 1907, bap-
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BIOGRAPHIES
tized by Isaac Frantz. Two years were spent in Mount Morris College and one year in Brown's Business College, Decatur, Illinois. After working for a short time as the county court reporter of Piatt County, he became a clerk of the Wabash Railroad Company in Decatur in 1917 and continues in that work. The Decatur church elected him to the office of deacon on January 23, 1938, and through the years has called him to other responsibilities. He has been a member of the district board of administration since 1942 and the secretary of this board since January 1944; from 1946 to 1947 he was a member of the General Brotherhood Board; he has also been active in promoting men's work organizations in the district for a number of years.
GEORGE W. MILLER, son of Solomon S. and Mary Miller, was born near Lima, Ohio, January 27, 1870. He married Minnie Cripe of Cerro Gordo, Illinois, July 11, 1893; three sons and three daughters were born to them. After studying for a brief time at Mount Morris College, he attended Beth- any Seminary two years. He taught for several years in the rural schools of Piatt and Macon counties, Illinois, and was a farmer-preacher in the La Place congrega- tion for almost forty years. He was bap- tized by Elder George W. Cripe in Decem- ber 1893, elected to the ministry in the La Place church in 1902, and ordained to the eldership on December 4, 1909. In GEORGE W. MILLER addition to his work in the La Place church he served as the pastor at Dixon, Illinois, one year; elder-in-charge of the Romine, Kaskaskia, and Pleas- ant Grove congregations in Southern Illinois; member of the district mission board (later the board of administra- tion) for twenty-six years; delegate on Standing Committee
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at four Conferences; evangelist in many churches; officiant at many weddings; minister at two hundred funerals. Be- cause of failing health he was forced to retire from the ac- tive ministry in 1940. He died in Urbana, Illinois, February 26, 1948.
HAROLD A. MILLER was born at Nappanee, Indiana, May 26, 1915, to Vernon E. and Nettie Overholser Miller. On Oc- tober 17, 1926, he was baptized by John Frederick. He mar- ried Louise Reed September 5, 1937; one son and one daugh- ter have been born to them. After attending Manchester College two years he graduated from Central Missouri State Teachers' College with an A.B .; Bethany Biblical Seminary granted him a B.D. degree in 1946. He was licensed to the ministry December 8, 1933; installed February 3, 1935; or- dained to the eldership November 3, 1939. He has served the church in these capacities: pastor, Leeton, Missouri, 1937- 1940; fieldman, Middle District of Missouri, 1938-1940; pastor, Middlebury, Indiana, 1941-1945; pastor, Woodland church, Astoria, Illinois, 1946-1947; pastor, Piqua, Ohio, since 1947; evangelist in a number of congregations; delegate on Standing Committee from South- ern Illinois.
NOAH H. MILLER, son of Solomon and Mary Miller, was born in Piatt County, Illinois, April 18, 1877. He married Elva D. Mellinger of Cerro Gordo, Illinois, in 1900; one son and two daughters were born to them. He attended Manchester College two N. H. MILLER years, Mount Morris College one year, and Bethany Biblical Seminary three years. Baptized by Elder Jacob Wyne in October
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BIOGRAPHIES
1897, he was elected to the office of deacon in 1908, called to the ministry in 1909, and ordained to the eldership in 1917. Following is a summary of his church activities: min- ister, Okaw, 1909-1917; pastor, Allison Prairie, 1917-1920; pastor, Decatur, 1926-1934; pastor, Mount Pleasant and Camp Creek in Northern Indiana since 1934; Standing Com- mitteeman twice; secretary, District of Southern Illinois, nineteen years; moderator of district meeting one year; elder-in-charge of four congregations in Northern Indiana; member of district ministerial and mission board of Northern Indiana.
SOLOMON S. MILLER was born near Lima, Ohio, February 28, 1847. He married Mary Miller of Virginia, and to them were born eight children. Moving to Edgar County, Illinois, then to Piatt County, he settled on a farm near La Place. In this church he was the first Sunday-school superintendent, and also served as a deacon, a minister and an elder. He was a counselor and a liberal giver. He died in 1921.
DANIEL MOHLER was born in Cumberland County, Penn- sylvania, January 18, 1834, to Allen and Elizabeth Kurtz Mohler. In 1852 the family moved by wagon to Carroll County, Indiana. In 1870 Brother Mohler came to Piatt County, Illinois, and in February 1872 married Sarah Cath- arine Wise, who died March 20, 1896. There were eleven children. He was baptized in 1867, elected to the ministry March 10, 1881, and later ordained as an elder. He died at Cerro Gordo, Illinois, January 3, 1917.
JOHN H. MOORE, son of David C. and Sarah Will Moore, was born at Salem, Virginia, April 8, 1846. He married Mary S. Bishop at Urbana, Illinois, December 28, 1871; two sons and two daughters were born to them. On September 21, 1889, he married Phebe A. Brower, of Mexico, Indiana. At
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Cedar, Missouri, he united with the Church of the Brethren in 1859. The Urbana, Illinois, church elected him to the ministry in 1869, and the Lanark church, Illinois, ordained him to the eldership in 1880. By trade he was a painter from 1864 to 1876. For seven years, 1876-1883, he was the editor of the Breth- ren at Work; from 1883 to 1884 and again from 1891 to 1915 he was the editor of the Gospel Messenger. He was the author J. H. MOORE of Our Saturday Night (1911), New Testament Doctrines (1914), The Boy and the Man (1923), and Some Brethren Pathfinders (1929). In 1898 he traveled in Europe and Bible lands and wrote a series of articles about those lands. Having a history-loving mind, he gathered material and wrote extensively about Brethren history; much of this material is preserved in the J. H. Moore Memorial Library at the Brethren Publishing House, Elgin, Illinois. Strong in the pulpit as well as with the pen, he did much to improve the preaching in his day. He, too, was a strong factor in building churches in Florida, where he died on December 23, 1935. He will be remembered as a leader in Annual Conference and as one of our ablest editors.
PHILIP A. MOORE, son of Thomas and Dollie Spitzer Moore, was born at Round Hill, Virginia, August 27, 1826. About 1830, his father mysteriously disappeared. When eight years old, Philip was put out from home to a farmer, on the common terms of receiving a horse, a saddle and a bridle when of age. At the age of sixteen he decided to learn a trade and was apprenticed to his brother, David C. Moore, at Franklin, Virginia, as a cabinet maker. Here he
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remained three years, learning the trade of carpenter and builder. He served one year and eight months in the Mex- ican War and then returned to Roanoke County, Virginia. In 1848 he moved to Illinois in company with James R. Gish and others, stopping in Tazewell County. On March 1, 1857, he married Clarinda Robinson; she died January 28, 1904, at Los Angeles, California. In 1856 he moved to Cedar County, Missouri, where he was called to the ministry and ordained to the eldership. He had united with the church on June 27, 1852. In 1860 he, with his brother David and their families, returned to Roanoke, Illinois. In 1896 he went to California, where he spent the latter part of his life. His house was always open for his friends, and many, as the years passed by, enjoyed its hospitality. A great part of his property accumulations was donated to the General Mission Board. He died on March 7, 1907.
DELMAR HARRISON MOYER was born July 13, 1924, near Dayton, Ohio, the son of Har- rison C. and Glenna Stebbins Moyer. In September 1933 he was baptized in the Lower Miami church, was elected to the ministry on August 5, 1942, and was ordained on September 2, 1943. On May 31, 1946 he was married to Dorothy Harshbarger. They have one son. Attending Man- chester College, he received an A.B. in 1946; a B.D. was received from Bethany Bibli- cal Seminary in 1949. In the summer of 1948 he was sum-
DELMAR MOYER AND FAMILY
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mer pastor of the Fairview church in Southern Indiana. Since June 1, 1949, he has been the part-time pastor of the Oakley church, Southern Illinois.
GEORGE ROBERT MORGAN was born in Jefferson County, Illinois, March 23, 1910, to Homer and Mary Agnes Wescott Morgan. He married Beulah Grace Richardson of Mount Vernon, Illinois, August 19, 1931; three sons and three daugh- ters were born to them. He united with the Church of the Brethren at Pleasant Grove, Illinois, in February 1936 and was baptized by Elder Sherman Shoemaker. By vocation he was a mechanic at Mount Vernon. He was pastor at Pleasant Grove, Illinois, from 1939 to 1944, and minis- ter at Bethel and Wolf Prairie from 1936 to 1937.
A. P. MUSSELMAN AND WIFE
A. P. MUSSELMAN, son of Aaron M. and Catharine Prowant Musselman, was born in Carroll County, Illinois, June 28, 1882. He mar- ried Alta Mae Mowery at Arcadia, Nebraska, February 16, 1910; to them were born two sons. He attended nor- mal school at Kearney, Nebraska, and spent three years at Bethany Biblical Seminary. He
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was baptized by Elder A. J. Nickey in 1908, elected to the ministry in 1911, and ordained to the eldership in 1913. As pastor and elder he served these churches: Beatrice, Ne- braska, 1913-1916; Batavia, Illinois, 1916-1919; Four Mile, Indiana, 1919-1924; Flora, Indiana, 1924-1929; Lima, Ohio, 1929-1939; Anderson, Indiana, 1939-1947; Girard, Illinois, since 1947. He has served as Standing Committeeman; mem- ber, district ministerial boards, nineteen years; moderator of district meeting, six times; Brethren service representa- tive for his district; evangelist in a number of states.
PETER S. MYERS was born in Lancaster County, Penn- sylvania, in October 1827. On February 12, 1851, he married Sarah Groff. He was baptized at Germany Valley, Pennsyl- vania, in 1854, elected deacon in 1857, and elected to the ministry in the Spring Run church, Pennsylvania, in 1860. His wife died in October 1884. In 1888 he moved to Cerro Gordo, Illinois, where he married Magdalene Frantz. He moved to Covina, California, in 1891, and later to Los An- geles. He erected the East Los Angeles church, assisted by Andrew Emmert, preached the dedicatory sermon, and had charge of the congregation for a number of years.
ANDREW NEHER was born in Clinton County, Indiana, on September 15, 1838, and died at McCune, Kansas, on January 1, 1918. On November 4, 1860, he married Elizabeth Wolf; to them three sons were born. In June 1869 he moved to Marion County, Illinois, and lived in the Romine congre- gation fifteen years. Soon after locating in this community he was elected to the ministry. On December 24, 1877, he was advanced to the second degree, and in April 1882 was ordained to the eldership. In March 1884 he moved to Chero- kee County, Kansas, and in 1894 to Crawford County, the same state. In 1898 he moved to North Dakota and was over- seer of the Salem church until his return to Kansas in 1904.
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