USA > Ohio > Church of the Brethren in southern Ohio > Part 17
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While this group considered the church altogether too progressive another group was contending through most of these same years that she was too conservative. This group did not center in this district, but in Pennsylvania. It was led by Elder H. R. Holsinger, who advocated what were con- sidered very radical policies and practices. A committee from Annual Meeting visited him. He disagreed with the com- mittee and it recommended that he be disfellowshiped. The Annual Meeting accepted the report and Elder Holsinger was thus disfellowshiped. He and his followers formed a new organization with their first convention held at Ashland, Ohio, in June 1882. Again groups were pulled out of Southern Ohio churches, but not so many as in the previous withdrawal.
Another very small group, contending mostly for plain clothes, pulled off in 1926 under the leadership of Elder B. E. Kessler, of Missouri. He and his followers organized the Dunkard Brethren Church at Plevna, Indiana, in June 1926. It did not affect Southern Ohio greatly, involving only a score or so of members.
In 1954 a group of forty members in the Happy Corner church, following their leader, Elder Lon Karns, formed a new congregation near Englewood and identified themselves with the Grace Brethren, whose headquarters are at Winona Lake, Indiana. They were opposed to recognition of the Na- tional Council of Churches and placed great emphasis upon the second coming of Christ. A few from near-by churches also joined the group.
PART THREE Personalities
1. CLERGY
EDWARD T. ANGENY
Edward T. Angeny was born in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 6, 1914, to William G. and Catherine Kruff Angeny.
He completed his high school training in Philadelphia and entered Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, graduating with the A.B. degree in 1947. In 1954 he received his B.D. degree from the Bonebrake Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio.
Edward Angeny and Wife
On February 26, 1938, he was married in Philadelphia to Helen Buehl. They have two children, Carol L. and Phyllis K.
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His election to the ministry occurred in 1936 in the Bethany church, Philadelphia. He was ordained an elder by the Muncie, Indiana, church in 1949.
He ministered to the Woodworth church, Northeastern Ohio, 1939-40. Then he went to China as a missionary, re- maining until 1947, when communism took over. Returning to the United States he pastored the Muncie, Indiana, con- gregation until 1951, when he became pastor of the Lower Miami church, where he still serves.
DALE AUKERMAN
Dale Aukerman was born June 16, 1930, in Preble County, Ohio, to Willard and Lucille Miller Aukerman.
He completed high school in the Lanier high school, Preble County. He has the A.B. degree from Chicago Univer- sity and has completed three more years of study there.
He came into the Church of the Brethren in 1949 and in 1951 he was licensed to the ministry by the Eaton church.
In 1952 he entered Brethren Volunteer Service, going to Europe in September 1953; he helped in the construction of Kassel House and then went into Y.M.C.A. work in Bavaria. Since January 1954 he has been a resettlement worker in Austria.
H. JESSE BAKER
H. Jesse Baker, the son of Elder Henry and Nancy Reed Baker, was born near Lima, Ohio, on February 6, 1882.
He moved with his parents to the North Star congrega- tion, this district, in 1895. Here he began a teaching career in 1901, and taught in Darke and Preble counties for thirty-six years. By attendance at summer normals and by completing correspondence courses he was able to complete two years of college.
Brother Baker became a member of the North Star church in 1901. He was elected to the ministry by this congregation
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in October of 1904, and was ordained an elder here in 1911.
While living at North Star he served in the free ministry a total of fifteen years, from 1904 to 1919. Moving into the Beech Grove congregation, he worked here in the same capacity for nine years, 1919-28. From 1928 to 1937 he was the part-time pastor at Prices Creek. In 1937 he became full- time pastor at Polo, Illinois, continuing for four years. Fol- lowing these years he pastored the Muncie church, Southern Indiana, for six years, 1941-47. Returning to Southern Ohio he had charge of the work at Hamilton for a year and then in 1948 retired to their home in West Manchester, Ohio. He presided as elder also while at Polo and at Prices Creek.
He married Mella D. Groff on November 27, 1902. Her father was Elder Nathan Groff, then of the North Star church. They had four sons and one daughter born to them. There have been sixteen grandchildren and no deaths as this is written. The children are: J. LeRoy, W. Kenneth, Emerson G., R. Paul, and Mrs. Ruth Emrick.
The Bakers observed their golden wedding anniversary on November 30, 1952, at their home in West Manchester.
HENRY TAZWELL BARNHART
Henry Tazwell Barnhart was born near Dayton, Ohio, to Levi and Mary Della Barnhart on October 10, 1905.
Moving with his parents to Virginia, he received his public-school education there; this was followed by night- school classes and correspondence courses.
Lonnie Rebecca Cummings of Franklin County, Virginia, became his wife on November 25, 1925. They later moved to Dayton, where he united with the East Dayton church in 1931. They have five children: Lucille, Earl, Paul, David, and Glenn.
He first served as superintendent of the Sunday school in East Dayton and was elected to the ministry here in 1936. Installed into the full ministry in 1937, he was ordained an elder in 1945.
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Brother Barnhart was the part-time pastor of the Circle- ville church in 1941 and has been part-time pastor of Prices Creek since September 1946. He was elder of the East Dayton
Henry Barnhart and Wife
church from 1948 to 1954 and has been elder of Prices Creek since 1950. He is a member of the Credential Committee of this district.
JOSEPHUS E. BARNHART
Josephus E. Barnhart was born near Ladoga, Indiana, July 15, 1862, to Anthony and Sarah Graybill Barnhart.
He grew up in Clark County, Ohio, attending the public schools here and later taking normal training at National Normal University, Lebanon, Ohio; Central Normal College, Great Bend, Kansas; and Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio.
His marriage to Emma Hertzler, of North Hampton, Ohio, took place on January 21, 1886. They were the parents of nine children: Jesse, Alma (Mrs. Roy Teach), Laura, Paul,
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Leonard, Ruth, Howard, Lawrence (a minister and pastor in the Church of the Brethren), and Walter.
He became a member of the Donnels Creek church, this district, in 1885. Elected a minister by the Eden Valley church, Kansas, in 1894, he was ordained an elder by the Donnels Creek church in 1904.
For some twenty years he taught school and also engaged in farming. He served as elder of the Donnels Creek church for several years, and was for four years a member of the Mission Board of Southern Ohio.
In 1909 he became afflicted and in a few years was en- tirely helpless, spending the remainder of his life, over twenty-five years, in a wheel chair, maintaining through these years a joyous attitude and a keen interest in the affairs of the church and the district. He passed away on April 2, 1937. His wife died on December 7, 1924.
SAMUEL LAWRENCE BARNHART
Samuel Lawrence Barnhart was born near Springfield, Ohio, on April 2, 1903, to Elder Josephus E. and Emma Hertzler Barnhart.
He was educated at Manchester and McPherson colleges, receiving his A.B. degree in 1928 from the latter. He graduated from Bethany Biblical Seminary, B.D. degree, in 1937. In 1949-50 he completed a year of graduate work in education at Chico State College, California.
June E. Myers, daughter of Elder and Sister J. M. Myers, of Cando, North Dakota, became his wife in 1935. She is a graduate in music from Bethany Biblical Seminary. They have one son, Larry.
He was licensed to the ministry by the New Carlisle church in 1932. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, church made him an elder in 1940.
His pastoral service covers twenty-two years in the fol- lowing churches: Pleasant Plains, Oklahoma; Batavia, Illinois; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Long Beach, San Diego, Empire, and Chico, California.
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Brother Barnhart served the District of Southern California and Arizona as moderator of district conference, as Standing Committeeman, and as the chairman of the
S. L. Barnhart
Board of Administration. He has served the District of Northern California as district writing clerk and as a member of Standing Committee. He was a member of the General Brotherhood Board, serving on the Foreign Mission Com- mission, from 1944 to 1949.
He has also taught in the high schools of both Oklahoma and California, and is at present a counselor-teacher in the Chico junior high school. He is co-pastor, with another teacher-minister, of the Chico church.
MORRIS BEEGHLEY
Morris Beeghley was born in Dayton, Ohio, March 26, 1931, to Chester A. and Mary Lutz Beeghley.
He finished high school at the Fairview high school,
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Dayton, and entered Manchester College, Indiana, graduating with the A.B. degree in the class of 1953. Then he entered Bethany Biblical Seminary; after one year he became a pastor in West Virginia.
On August 31, 1951, he married Beverly A. Bright at the East Dayton church.
The Fort McKinley church licensed him on November 27, 1949, and ordained him a minister in November of 1953. His plans are to complete his seminary course at Bethany Biblical Seminary in the near future.
ISAAC R. BEERY
Isaac R. Beery was born to Abraham S. and Margaret Hunnsaker Beery on February 21, 1877, in Hocking County, Ohio.
I. R. Beery and Wife
He moved with the family to Covington, Ohio, in 1892, where he completed high school in 1897. That fall he entered
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Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. He continued here two years.
On July 20, 1899, he married Barbara Elizabeth Shafer. Three children were born to them, one dying in childhood. The two living are Mrs. Harry S. Wolf of Iowa City, Iowa, and Dr. George S. Beery of the faculty of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. An adopted daughter is Mrs. Lloyd Lowry, of Pleasant Hill, Ohio.
The couple established their home in Covington and he entered the teaching profession, continuing for eleven years in the public schools of Miami County.
He was elected to the ministry by the Pleasant Hill church in December of 1910 and entered Bethany Biblical Seminary in 1911. While here he pastored the Naperville, Illinois, church, and was advanced to the second-degree ministry. He continued as student and pastor for three years.
In 1915 he accepted a call to the Lanark church, Illinois, and in the fall of 1917 to the Flora church, Middle Indiana. He remained here five years. Following the years at Flora he pursued further studies in Chicago and then became pastor of the Pyrmont church, Southern Indiana, in 1923. They left Pyrmont to go to Manchester College, where he and his son graduated together in May 1926.
He then engaged in evangelism for a brief period, re- turning to pastoral work with the Markle church, Middle Indiana, in the fall of 1926. Here he was ordained to the eldership on March 16, 1928. In 1930 the Beerys went to the Rossville church, Southern Indiana, returning thence to Pleasant Hill in 1932.
For several years he was self-employed, giving part-time pastoral services to Pleasant Hill, Pleasant Valley, Sidney, and Charleston, all in this district. In 1943 he served the Belle- fontaine church for a short period, then accepted charge of the Freeburg-Reading parish, near Alliance, Ohio, North- eastern District. In 1949, because of Sister Beery's illness, they returned to Pleasant Hill, where they still live.
He was the moderator of the Southern Indiana district conference in 1931, and has been elder-in-charge of several
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churches. Though retired he continues to preach on occasion. Sister Beery is still an invalid but is able to get about the home in a wheel chair.
D. G. BERKEBILE
D. G. Berkebile, born March 6, 1880, in Fulton County, Ohio, was the son of David and Sarah Stutzman Berkebile. His father was an elder.
He attended the public schools, Manchester College, and Bethany Bible School.
In 1894 he became a member of the Church of the Brethren, was elected to the ministry in 1900, and was ordained an elder in 1909.
He taught school for twelve years, was pastor of the Harris Creek church, this district, for nineteen years, and of the Union City and Poplar Grove churches four years, making a total of twenty-three years as a pastor in Southern Ohio. He left this district to become pastor of the West Goshen church, Northern Indiana, where he served four years; he has retired from the active ministry, and they now live in North Manchester, Indiana.
Effie Kintner, of Northwestern Ohio, became his wife in 1903. They have six children, all of whom are Manchester College graduates.
Brother Berkebile was on the Mission Board of Southern Ohio for fifteen years and was on the Standing Committee eight times. He was for some time a member of the Ministerial Board here and has moderated district conference three times.
FOSTER M. BITTINGER
Foster M. Bittinger was born at Accident, Maryland, June 11, 1901, the son of Jonas and Etta Fike Bittinger.
He attended Elizabethtown Academy, Pennsylvania, and Bridgewater College, Virginia; he also studied at Bethany Biblical Seminary, Chicago, and Vanderbilt University, Nash- ville, Tennessee.
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On June 3, 1923, he was married to Esther Bair. They have four living children: Emmert, Virginia, Annabelle, and Kathleen.
0
Foster Bittinger and Wife
In June of 1921 he was elected to the ministry by the Eglon church, West Virginia, and on May 16, 1925, was ordained to the eldership by the Jordan Run congregation, West Virginia.
The churches of which he has been the pastor, in their order, are: North Fork, West Virginia; Browntown, Virginia; Brightwood, Virginia; Terra Alta, West Virginia, in connection with district field work in this state; Westernport-Frostburg, Maryland; Mill Creek, Virginia, and since September 1950 the Salem church in this district.
Brother Bittinger has been active in church camps, has been moderator of district conferences and has served several times on Standing Committee and on different district boards and committees. He is the author of History of the Church of the Brethren in the First District of West Virginia and also of the history of the Mill Creek church, Virginia.
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SIDNEY ALPHEUS BLESSING
Sidney Alpheus Blessing was born in Huntington County, Indiana, on April 7, 1868, to John and Sarah Miller Blessing.
He attended the public schools in Indiana and prepared for the teaching profession at Mount Morris College. He taught for eleven years in Indiana.
Brother Blessing married Anna Belle Klepinger on September 5, 1895. Three children were born to them, one dying in infancy. The others are Earle and Mrs. Harry Black. The wife and mother died in 1936. In 1942 he was married to Lydia Grossnickle, of Castine, Ohio. She survived his death on November 30, 1950, at West Milton, where he had resided since 1905.
He united with the Loon Creek church in Indiana in 1889 and was elected a minister by the Kewanna church in 1892. He later resided in the Wolf Creek, Bear Creek, and West Milton churches. He was ordained by the latter and was its elder from 1909 until 1937. Other churches which he served as elder included Beech Grove, Castine, Prices Creek, Pitsburg, Middle District, and Potsdam. He was elder and minister at the last of these for eighteen years previous to his death in 1950.
Brother Blessing represented the district twice as a member of the Standing Committee, and once was reader for district conference.
He was manager of the local telephone company for over twenty years, and served four years as representative in the state legislature. He was an ardent temperance worker.
DANIEL LEVI BLICKENSTAFF
Daniel Levi Blickenstaff was born near Oakley, Macon County, Illinois, on November 11, 1901, the son of Levi and Martha Davis Blickenstaff.
He attended the local schools, Mount Morris Academy 1916-20, the Columbia College of Expression, and the Training School of Bethany Seminary. Later he returned to Mount
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Morris College and then enrolled in Oklahoma A. and M. College at Stillwater, and lastly in McPherson College, Kansas, where he graduated in 1945 with the A.B. degree. Returning to Bethany Seminary he completed the work for the B.D.
D. L. Blickenstaff and Wife
degree in 1950. During the summers of 1948, 1949, and 1950 he was in Garrett Biblical Institute, Evanston, Illinois, working toward the Master's degree in theology. He attended night school at James Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois, and taught school for two years in Macon County, Illinois.
In 1938 the Church of the Brethren at Oakley, Southern Illinois, licensed him to preach. The same congregation in- stalled him into the ministry in 1940. While residing in the District of Oklahoma and Panhandle of Texas he was ordained an elder.
He served in the ministry in the Waka, Texas, congrega- tion; the Big Creek church, in Oklahoma; at Navarre, Kansas; and in Muskegon, Michigan. He came to Southern Ohio to be the leader of the Middletown church in 1950. In 1952 he became the pastor of the church in Cincinnati.
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His marriage to Mabrye Ann Taylor, of Plattsburg, Mis- souri, took place on January 3, 1923. They have two daughters, Martha Mae Jennings and Josephine.
He has been on the Standing Committee, and on the Board of Christian Education for Northeastern Kansas. Wherever he has been he has co-operated actively in the interdenominational work, and has been active in the church camps of three districts.
IRA G. BLOCHER
Ira G. Blocher, the son of Elder Samuel W. and Catherine Glunt Blocher, was born near Greenville on July 22, 1873.
Completing common school he spent a year in the academy of Mount Morris College, Illinois, and later three
Ira Blocher and Wife
and one-half years in the Training School of Bethany Biblical Seminary.
On August 24, 1895, he married Laura A. Wagner. They
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have four children: Mrs. Ruth Mallott, Mrs. Kathryn Wallick, Kenneth, and Lois.
The Poplar Grove church called him to the ministry on February 4, 1904, and he was ordained an elder by the Zion, Michigan, church on June 25, 1913.
His ministerial services were confined mostly to Poplar Grove, Prices Creek, Eaton, and Greenville in this district and to the Zion church, Michigan.
His service to the district included that of district Sunday- school secretary, member of the Mission Board, member of the Historical Committee, and transportation representative.
He followed farming, but is now in retirement at Green- ville, where he is active in many farm organizations, par- ticularly on the Farm Security Administration and as president of the Farm Loan Association of Darke County, but recently serving also Miami and Shelby counties.
JOHN GLENN BLOUGH
John Glenn Blough, son of Elder S. S. and Mary Wertz Blough, was born at North Manchester, Indiana, on September 18, 1911.
He completed high school at Sterling, Illinois, and entered Manchester College, graduating, A.B. degree, in 1933.
On June 24, 1950, he married Grace B. Waite, at Ft. Thomas, Kentucky.
He was licensed to preach in 1940 and ordained a minister in 1941 by the Cincinnati church. In the local church he has worked as Sunday-school superintendent, church treasurer, and young people's teacher. For a few months in 1942 he was the assistant pastor.
He is a research chemist living at Ft. Thomas, Kentucky, at present.
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SILAS S. BLOUGH
Silas S. Blough was the fourth child of Emanuel J. and Sally Barndt Blough, being born to them on April 27, 1868, in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
S. S. Blough and Wife
He attended the public schools of Somerset County, three terms of teachers' normal, and Juniata College, from which he graduated with the B.E. degree in 1893. In 1896 he was awarded the M.E. degree. He graduated with the B.A. degree from Manchester College in 1915. He also attended Bethany Biblical Seminary for three years and a summer term at the Divinity School of Chicago University, being granted the B.D. degree by Bethany in 1917. In 1924 he spent the summer in Dr. White's Bible School, New York City.
He taught public school for ten terms in Pennsylvania, and two terms in teachers' normal schools. Also he taught in the Bible department of Manchester College. During part of this time he was also the pastor and elder of the local church.
Brother Blough became a member of the Church of the
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Brethren in June of 1886. In June of 1894 he was elected a minister and in 1895 advanced to the second degree. He was ordained an elder on May 27, 1902.
He was married to Mary Alice Wertz, of the Walnut Grove church, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on June 17, 1894. They have three sons and one daughter: Carman G., J. Roy, Ruth S. (Mrs. Kenneth Blocher), and J. Glenn, all of whom have graduated from Manchester College. Beyond this, Carman has the degrees of A.M. and LL.D .; J. Roy, the A.M., Ph.D., LL.D., and L.H.D .; and J. Glenn the A.M. Carmen and Roy are listed in Who's Who in America.
Brother Blough's ministerial activities began in the free ministry in 1894 in the churches of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. In May of 1900 he went to Pittsburgh, where he founded and pastored for several years what is now the Pittsburgh Church of the Brethren. In 1908 he began as part-time pastor of the Batavia, Illinois, church while he pursued his seminary work at Bethany Seminary, Chicago. He ministered to this church until 1911. He then went to North Manchester, serving the Manchester church as elder and part-time pastor while teach- ing in the college. He became pastor of the Astoria church, Southern Illinois, in 1918 and was with this church until 1921. In this year he began at the Decatur church, same district, remaining here until 1924. He was then at Sterling, Northern Illinois and Wisconsin, until 1929, when he became pastor of the Fort Wayne church, Northern Indiana. He was here until September 1934, at which-time he returned to his native state, Pennsylvania, to pastor the Greencastle church, Southern Pennsylvania. He was here two years when he was asked to go to the York church, where he labored from 1936 to 1940.
It was in this latter year that he came into this district as pastor of the Sidney church. He was pastor here from 1940 to 1945. Remaining in Southern Ohio, he became pastor of the Pleasant Valley church in September 1945. On Sep- tember 1, 1949, Brother Blough retired from the active min- istry, aged eighty, and took up his residence at Greenville. He still preaches on occasion and is active in the local church there.
He was the first district Sunday-school secretary of
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Western Pennsylvania, was six years a member of the General Sunday School Board, and four years a member of the General Ministerial Board. He was once a trustee of Mount Morris College, Illinois, was six times a member of the Standing Committee, and has been an instructor in many Bible and Sunday-school institutes across the Brotherhood. He is co- author of Studies in Doctrine and Devotion and has written many articles for our church papers.
How inspiring it must be to retrospect over such an active and useful life!
JAMES C. BOITNOTT
James Christopher Boitnott was born near Boones Mill, Virginia, on January 30, 1918, to Ivan Lewis and Essie Cummings Boitnott.
James Boitnott and Wife
Completing his high school training in the Boones Mill schools, he followed farming before entering Bridgewater College, Virginia, from which he graduated, A.B. degree, in
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1943. He received the B.D. degree from Bethany Biblical Seminary in 1946.
His marriage to Daisy Belle Berkebile, of Rockwood, Pennsylvania, took place on June 3, 1944. She is the daughter of Elder Walter F. and Daisy R. Berkebile.
Brother Boitnott united with the Brick church, Southern Virginia, and was licensed to the ministry by this congrega- tion in 1940 and then ordained a minister in 1942. His ordi- nation to the eldership occurred on May 16, 1948, in the Toledo church, Northwestern Ohio.
He served in summer pastorates at Copper Hill, Virginia, and at Wooddale, Pennsylvania. In 1945 he became pastor of the Toledo church, where he remained until 1951. In September of that year he came to this district as pastor of the Brookville church, where he is serving at this time. While in Northwestern Ohio he was a member of the District Board of Administration.
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