USA > Ohio > The Church of the Brethren in northeastern Ohio > Part 18
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Mervin Cripe
Arthur Crone
ARTHUR E. CRONE, an active lay member of the Ashland Dickey church, was born on September 4, 1898. His father was John E. Crone and his mother was the former Helen Ewing. Brother Crone was married to Edna Scott; they are the parents of two sons and one daughter. He attended Manchester College. While engaging in farming in the Ashland area since 1918, he has served the District of Northeastern Ohio as chairman of Brethren service, as adviser of the youth fellowship, and as president of the district men's fellowship. Brother Crone represented his district on Standing Committee in 1954.
JOSEPH A. CROWELL, son of Devault and Catherine (Gerbe) Crowell, was born in Bradford, Ohio, on August 12, 1876. On April 27, 1904, he married Olda M. Seibt; they became the parents of four children. Brother Crowell received his
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education at Juniata College and Columbia University. He taught in various schools until 1900, when he became principal of the Greenville, Ohio, elementary school. He was superin- tendent of schools in Bradford, Ohio, from 1901 to 1908 and was the Darke County school examiner from 1905 to 1908, serving also as cashier of Bradford's First National Bank. From 1912 to 1916 he was head of Juniata College's department of mathematics. In 1916 he became principal of the Fairmount junior high school and practice school for teachers, in Cleveland, Ohio, and remained in that post until 1940. Retired from education, Brother Crowell went into Civil Service Commission work as a special representative from 1942 to 1944 and as a training officer for the Veterans' Administration. He gave much assistance in the organization of the Cleveland church, of which he was a charter member, preaching its first sermon in 1917. Brother Crowell died on March 31, 1952.
CHARLES H. DEARDORFF, son of Isaac and Mary (Tombaugh) Deardorff, was born March 4, 1880, in Roann, Indiana. He married Emma May Byer on August 27, 1898; thirteen children were born to them. He was called to the ministry in August 1905, installed into the full ministry in September 1911, and ordained to the eldership in September 1915. He served in the free ministry in Egeland, North Dakota, Harlan, Michigan, and Elmdale, Michigan, from 1905 to 1921, undertaking part-time pastoral duties in White Cottage, Ohio, in the latter year. From 1925 to 1934 he was the pastor of the Hartville, Ohio, church, and from 1934 to 1940 of the Ashland church. Brother Deardorff has served as moderator at district conferences several times and has been a member of the welfare board, the ministerial board, and the mission board of the district. For a period of about ten years, he was employed by the General Brotherhood Board as church building counselor. He became pastor of the Paradise church in 1950, remaining there until 1956. He is living in retirement in Smithville, Ohio.
HAROLD I. DEETER was born in Centralia, Washington, on August 17, 1910, the son of Charles W. and Mary (Shaffer) Deeter. He was baptized at Irricana, Alberta, in 1920. His
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marriage to Blanche Irene Hahn took place on July 2, 1941; four children have been born to them. Brother Deeter received the call to the ministry in May 1943, was ordained at Mansfield, Ohio, in 1944, and to the eldership in 1952 at Woodland, Illinois. He secured his education at Ashland College and Bethany Bible Training School. His pastorates have been Dillonvale, Ohio, in 1943; Mansfield, 1943 to 1946; Shepherd, Michigan, 1947 to 1950; Woodland, Illinois, 1950 to 1953; Black River, Ohio, 1953 to 1956; Elyria mission, Ohio, 1956 to 1957; Bethel, this district, 1958 to the present.
Harold Deeter
Ora DeLauter
ORA DALE DELAUTER, son of Aaron and Ella (Snell) DeLauter, was born near North Manchester, Indiana, on June 10, 1891. He was baptized on February 24, 1905, in the Burnetts- ville, Indiana, congregation. Elected to the ministry on July 4, 1911, in the same congregation, he was ordained an elder in May 1919 in the Tuscarawas, Ohio, church. He served the Tuscarawas congregation in the free ministry from 1914 to 1916. He married Eva Domer on May 14, 1914; five children were born to the couple. Brother DeLauter attended Manchester and Ashland colleges, Ashland Seminary, and Vanderbilt University. In his earlier years in the ministry he was the part-time pastor at Ashland Dickey from 1921 to 1927 and the full-time pastor from 1927 to 1933; part-time pastor of the Maple Avenue church, Canton, 1933 to 1936; interim pastor in
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Cleveland the first part of 1933; and full-time pastor of the Olivet church, in Northeastern Ohio, 1937 to 1943. While in this district he was at various times moderator, assistant moderator, writing clerk, and reading clerk. He held member- ship on the home mission board and the board of Christian education, was the adult supervisor, and represented the district on Standing Committee in 1941, 1944, and 1946. From 1943 to 1946 he was director of civilian public service camp number 240-4, at Williamsport, Maryland. During the same time he was the fieldman for the Middle District of Maryland. In 1947, he became fieldman for both the Eastern and the Middle District of Maryland. From 1947 to 1956 he was executive secretary of the Southeastern Region. In 1956 he became pastor of the Happy Corner church in Southern Ohio, continuing there until 1959. Currently he is ministering to the Roann church, Middle Indiana. Brother DeLauter was the chairman of the committee of arrangements for the 1952 Annual Conference and was a member of the Conference Pro- gram Committee from 1952 through 1955.
W. L. DESENBERG was born in Ashland County, Ohio, on January 25, 1856, the son of William and Sarah (Cassel) Desenberg. He was married to Anna Meyers on September 21, 1882; they were the parents of one son. Brother Desenberg attended Ashland, Juniata, and Manchester colleges. Before he was called to the ministry in 1887, he taught at the Fluke, Kendig, Jackson, Eight Square, and Riddle schools. He carried the pastoral duties at the Maple Grove church for thirty-three years, with the exception of five years spent in the evangelistic field. He was the pastor at the Ashland Dickey and Richland churches, started the Lincoln Heights mission in Mansfield, and assisted in founding the First Brethren church there. Brother Desenberg retired in 1930. His death occurred on November 11, 1942.
JACOB TROSTLE DICK was born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, on May 18, 1917, to Trostle P. and Annie (Hollinger) Dick. His baptism took place on May 16, 1929, in the Coventry church, Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He was graduated from the North Coventry high school in 1935, from Juniata College
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with an A.B. degree in 1939, from Bethany Biblical Seminary with a B.D. degree in 1942, and from Mount Airy Lutheran Seminary with an S.T.M. degree. Brother Dick was ordained to the ministry in the Coventry congregation on May 8, 1938, and to the eldership in the Shade Creek church in Western Pennsylvania in May 1943. On August 24, 1941, he was married to Leona M. Stouffer; they are the parents of two children. Following is his pastoral record: part time, Augwick, Middle Pennsylvania, 1938-
1939; student, La Place, Southern Illinois, 1941-1942; Shade Creek, Western Penn- sylvania, 1942-1945; Lititz, Eastern Pennsylvania, 1945- 1952; Springfield, Northeast- ern Ohio, 1955-1960; Fresno, Northern California, 1960 -. During the pastorate at Lititz he also taught in the Linden Junior College for a period of three years, 1949-1952. From 1952 to 1955 he was with Brethren Service, working in Kassel, Germany; he visited twenty-two countries in Eu- Jacob T. Dick rope and the Middle East during this period. Among his other services to the church was membership on the Annual Conference committee to study the peace position and practice of the Church of the Brethren. He has been an occasional contributor to Brethren periodicals.
ELIAS DICKEY was born on August 24, 1808, probably in Stark County, Ohio. Moving to Ashland County, Ohio, in 1844 he settled first on a farm southeast of Ashland. A few years later he bought and moved onto another farm, where he lived until the time of his death on June 2, 1864. It was on this farm that the 1854 Annual Meeting was held. Early in life he and
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his wife, Elizabeth Hoke Dickey, united with the Church of the Brethren. They were faithful and active members of the church throughout their entire lives. As a young man Brother Dickey was called to the ministry and was soon afterward ordained an elder. Following his coming to Ashland County, much of the work of the ministry in that locality devolved upon him. The distance he traveled in one year in his own conveyance amounted to over five thousand miles. He was placed in charge of the Maple Grove congregation when the church was organized in 1860. In the same year the Ashland Dickey church was organized and Brother Dickey was chosen as the first presiding elder. Seven years before the Ashland Dickey church was organized as a separate congregation, 1853, Brother and Sister Dickey deeded the land for the first church house for the sum of fifty dollars. A farmer by occupation, he cleared up three farms and erected five sets of buildings. An able defender of the plain teaching and doctrines of the Bible, he advocated revival meetings long before the church in general approved such protracted efforts. He was affectionately know as Father Dickey.
EDGAR G. DIEHM, son of Oliver W. and Emma (Graybill) Diehm, was born November 25, 1891, in Elm, Pennsylvania. He was baptized in 1909 in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, where he attended the Elizabethtown Academy. He married Maude Hertzler in June 1917; four children were born to the union. Brother Diehm received his education at Juniata College (1917) and Crozer Seminary (1920). Elected to the ministry in 1915 in the Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, congregation, he was advanced in 1916 in the Upper Claar congregation, also in Pennsylvania, and ordained to the eldership in 1929 in the Woodworth church, Ohio. He served as part-time pastor in Claar, Pennsylvania (1916-1917); full-time pastor in Royers- ford, Pennsylvania (June 1917 to September 1920); part-time pastor in Woodworth (September 1922 to September 1926 and September 1929 to September 1938). In addition, he performed supply work in the Zion Hill church, Ohio, from September 1941 to September 1946. Brother Diehm was presiding elder at Woodworth from 1929 to 1935 and from 1937 to 1938, and presiding elder at Zion Hill for a period of seven years
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beginning January 1, 1942. From 1946 to 1959 he was the writing clerk of the District of Northeastern Ohio. He was an instructor of speech at the South high school, Youngstown, from 1920 to 1959 and has been a judge in the county court since 1958. He is known in Youngstown as "the supply pastor." (Note: He has given untiring and helpful service for ten years to the historical committee in the editing of this history. - Committee.)
Edgar G. Diehm
Edna Disler
EDNA LUCILLE DISLER, an active worker in the Akron, Ohio, city church, is the daughter of William and Ada Jane (Collins) Border. On October 12, 1930, she was married to Don A. Disler; their wedding was the only one ever performed in the Mt. Zion church. In her local church, Sister Disler has been the organist. In the work of the district, she has shared as the secretary of the historical committee, a leader in junior camps, and a member of the district conference program committee. She has carried responsibilities in church circles in her community as a member of the Akron Council of Church Women and of the Akron Council of Churches.
ARTHUR L. DODGE, son of Leonard C. and Elmina (Binkley) Dodge, was born in Columbus Grove, Ohio, on December 3, 1892. He was baptized on February 14, 1909, in Lima, Ohio. Two children were born to his marriage to Elizabeth Netzley
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on December 24, 1916. Brother Dodge was called to the ministry in 1919 at Union City, Indiana (the church house is in Ohio), and was ordained to the eldership in 1925 in the Pleasant Valley church near Union City. He served in the free ministry at the Union City church from 1919 to 1923, and as part-time pastor at Pleasant Valley. In January 1926 he went to Oak Grove, Northwestern Ohio, as part-time pastor. He was at Plum Creek, Pennsylvania, from 1927 to 1931; Black River, Northeastern Ohio, from 1931 to 1941, part time; Woodland, Michigan, from 1941 to 1945; Defiance, Northwestern Ohio, from 1945 to 1948; Arcadia, Southern Indiana, from 1948 to 1953; Wakarusa, Northern Indiana, from 1953 to 1955; Camp Creek, Northern Indiana, from 1956 to 1958. In 1958 he retired from active work, residing since then near Middlebury, Indiana. Brother Dodge represented Northeastern Ohio on the Standing Committee once. Sister Dodge died in October 1962.
CURTIS W. DUBBLE, son of William R. and Estella (Crouse) Dubble, was born in Reistville, Pennsylvania, on June 24, 1922. He was baptized in 1933 in Richland, Pennsylvania. Six days before being licensed to the ministry on September 21, 1945, he married Anna Mary Forney; three daughters have been born to the couple. He received his education at Elizabethtown College and Bethany Seminary (B.D. degree). Brother Dubble was advanced to the second degree on March 8, 1947. He served in the free ministry at the Heidelberg church, Pennsylvania, from September 21, 1945, to October 1, 1948; as part-time pastor at Amwell, New Jersey, and Allentown, Pennsylvania, from 1945 to 1949; as summer pastor at Long Run, Pennsylvania, 1951; from 1952 to 1961 as full-time pastor of the Canton First church, Ohio; and, since 1961, at West- minster, Maryland. He was ordained to the eldership in 1953. District activities in Northeastern Ohio included being a member of the mission board and the Christian education board and moderating the 1959 conference.
EMMANUEL ANDREW EDWARDS was born to John Wesley and Rosenna (Householder) Edwards in Six Mile Run, Pennsylvania, on September 23, 1883. He was baptized in the
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Emmanuel and Mary Edwards
Fairview congregation, Pennsylvania, on January 5, 1905. On October 17, 1907, he married Mary C. Brumbaugh; three children were born to them. On October 30, 1921, Brother Edwards was ordained to the ministry in the Raven Run congregation, Pennsylvania, where he served in the free ministry until 1924. In that year he went to the Koontz congregation, Pennsylvania, as full-time pastor. In 1927 he assumed the pastorate of the Manor congregation in Western Pennsylvania, where he was ordained to the eldership in 1931. Subsequent pastoral charges were Montgomery, Western Pennsylvania, 1932-1936; Cherry Lane, Black Valley, and Pleasant Union in Pennsylvania and Artemas, Amaranth, and Glendale in Maryland, 1936-1938; Kent, Northeastern Ohio, 1938-1941; Bethel, Northeastern Ohio, 1941-1946, part time. He died on May 14, 1946.
HARVEY DENTON EMMERT, son of Joseph and Anna (Benedict) Emmert, was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, September 21, 1877. The family moved to Waynesboro before he entered grade school; there, on January 23, 1895, he united with the church. Brother Emmert was called to the ministry
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October 29, 1905, and ordained to the eldership January 10, 1928. He married Leila Boerner on August 7, 1912; they were the parents of a boy and a girl. Brother Emmert served the Waynesboro church in the free ministry from 1912 to 1919, teaching during that time in the Waynesboro schools. His full-time pastorates were Shippensburg, Pennsylvania (1919- 1926); Cleveland, Ohio (1926-1932); Nappanee, Indiana (1935-1941) ; Bunkertown, Pennsylvania (1941-1947) ; Mechan- icsburg, Pennsylvania (1947-1949). Death came to him on June 23, 1949.
FLOYD C. EMRICK was born June 12, 1910, in Preble County, Ohio, the son of Clarence and Mary (Keckler) Emrick. He was married to Mildred Kasserman, a member of the Church of the Brethren, in August 1935; the following month he was received into the church in Costive, Ohio. Brother Emrick was called to the ministry April 4, 1947, advanced August 22, 1948, and ordained to the eldership in 1953. He is a graduate of Manchester College and Bethany Seminary. He served the North Bethel, Missouri, church the summer of 1948 in the free ministry. For one year during his seminary studies he was pastor of Trinity church, Oak Park, Illinois. In 1950 he became the pastor of the Owl Creek church, Northeastern Ohio, giving a part of his time to the chaplaincy of the Mt. Vernon State Hospital. Then followed two years with the hospital and other years as a teacher in the Bellville high school. Currently he is dividing his time between high school teaching and the combined pastorate of the Defiance and Poplar Ridge churches in Northwestern Ohio.
W. F. ENGLAND, born in Medina County, Ohio, on June 26, 1856, was the son of John and Susanna (Moore) England. He was baptized December 25, 1877, in the Black River church. On December 22, 1880, he was united in marriage to Luella Workman; four children were born to the union. Brother England was a graduate of Medina Normal School and attended Ashland College for two years. For a number of years he taught in the Ashland schools. He was elected to the deaconship in the Ashland Dickey church in 1885 and in that year received
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his call to the ministry. He was advanced in 1894 and ordained to the eldership in 1903. From 1885 to 1907 he served the Ashland church in the free ministry. Brother England moved his family to La Verne, California, where he became active in the work of the church. He was the president of La Verne College from 1909 to 1911 and for many years was one of the trustees of the college. He was always liberal in his support of education, giving generously of his time and services. He was the proprietor of a depart- ment store in La Verne during his years in California. Brother Eng- land was moderator of California district conferences several times and served on many committees of the district. During his last years, his interests and efforts were di- W. F. England verted toward starting an old people's home for Southern California and Arizona, and at the time of his death plans were well under way. Sister England died February 19, 1939; the date of Brother England's death is not known.
NIELS ESBENSEN was born May 13, 1891, in Rakkeby, Denmark, the son of Christian and Martine (Nybo) Esbensen. He was reared and educated in his native land, and there he was baptized on August 8, 1906. In America he continued his education at Bethany Biblical Seminary. He married Maren Christine Bendsen on July 1, 1915; they are the parents of four children. Brother Esbensen was called to the ministry in Chicago in 1919 and was advanced to the eldership in Lanark, Illinois, in 1929. He was in Denmark from 1920 to 1924 shepherding the Brethren members there. Again in 1945 he returned to Denmark, remaining until 1947. His pastorates in the States have been Freeport, Illinois (1928-1937) ; Empire, California (1937-1942) ; Hartville, Ohio (1942-1944); Pine Creek, Indiana (1944-1945); Champaign, Illinois (summer, 1948) ; Chico and Paradise, California (interim, 1948-1949) ;
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Champaign, Illinois (1949-1951); Lewistown, Pennsylvania (1951-1953); South Bay, California (1953-1958); San Diego, California (interim, 1958-1960); Flora, Indiana (interim, 1962-1963). Since retiring from full-time work in 1960, the Esbensens have been living in North Manchester, Indiana.
EMERY JACOB ESHELMAN was born in Hartville, Ohio, on October 27, 1886, the son of Henry Jacob and Elizabeth (Kurtz) Eshelman. He was baptized in 1901 near Hartville. On October 27, 1907, he was married to Hattie Eby; one son was born to them. Sister Eshelman died in July 1924. On October 28, 1925, Brother Eshelman married Vera Hoffman. Called to the ministry in 1921, he was ordained to the eldership in 1938 at Kent. His education was received at Young's Bible Institute and Bethany Biblical Seminary. In 1924 he moved to a farm near Kent, where he lived until his death in November 1941. In the Kent church he played the role of helper to the minister.
T. QUENTIN EVANS is a native of New Lebanon, Ohio. He was graduated with distinction from Manchester College in 1945 and magna cum laude from Bethany Biblical Seminary in 1948; he received an M.A. degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1950 and a Ph.D. degree from Ohio State University in 1960. He is an ordained minister. Following several years on the faculty of the College of Wooster, he is now teaching sociology at Manchester College. While in Northeastern Ohio he was for a time a member of the board of Christian education. His wife is the former Helen Brubaker; they have two children.
IVAN J. FAUSNIGHT, a son of Samuel E. and Lola (Hershberger) Fausnight, was born on October 21, 1923, in Middlebranch, Ohio. He was baptized in the First church, Akron, in February 1936. While serving as a seaman from 1943 to 1946, he visited Australia, India, Dutch New Guinea, the Philippines, Italy, Nova Scotia, North Africa, and the Admiralty Islands. Brother Fausnight married Norma Rae
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Taylor on August 29, 1946; five children have been born to them. Licensed to preach on September 18, 1947, in the Eastwood, Ohio, congregation, he was ordained to the ministry on August 18, 1950. He attended Bethany Biblical Seminary for two years. The White Cottage congregation, Northeastern Ohio, was his field of work from June 1, 1951, to September 1, 1955; the Maple Grove church, also in Northeastern Ohio, from 1955 to 1960. At present he is the director of Agapé Acres, a retirement center sponsored by the Maple Grove church.
GUY SMILEY FERN, son of Millard and Ethel (Smiley) Fern, was born in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, on January 20, 1920. He was baptized on October 23, 1940, in the Juniata Park congregation, Altoona, Pennsylvania. After finishing his high school work in 1937, he did further studying at the Philadelphia Bible Institute (1946). He was united in marriage to Evelyn Mae Croft on April 12, 1941; they have one daughter. Licensed to preach by the Altoona congrega- tion, Pennsylvania, on September 1, 1943, he was ordained to the min- istry at Rockton, Pennsylvania, on November 11, 1945, and ordained to the eldership by the district meet- ing of Middle Pennsylvania at Martinsburg on April 20, 1947. Before taking up pastoral work he was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad (1939-1943). From 1943 to 1946 he attended school and did Guy S. Fern some preaching. Before coming to Ohio he was the pastor of the Rockton church from October 1, 1945, to October 1, 1946, and of the Cherry Lane church from October 1, 1946, to September 1, 1953. The Baltic and Sugarcreek congregations in Northeastern Ohio were his charges from September 1953 until August 1958, the new Sugarcreek church house being built during his time there. From September 1958 to June 1962 he was with the Olivet church. Returning to Pennsylvania in 1962, he became the pastor of the Pine Glen church.
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CHARLES KENNETH FISHER, the son of Charles Ernest and Ruby Irene (Benson) Fisher, was born in Lawrence County, Illinois, on August 22, 1922. He was baptized in the Allison Prairie church in 1932. His marriage to Blanche Ruth Ducharm took place on August 23, 1940; to them were born three sons and four daughters. Brother Fisher was or- dained to the ministry in the Alli- son Prairie church and ordained an elder in the Turkey Creek mission, Southern Ohio, in 1953. He served as a part-time pastor of several churches in Southern Illinois and Southern Indiana, and of the Turkey Creek mission, Southern Ohio. On August 2, 1956, the Black River church, Northeastern Ohio, called him to the pastorate, where he continues his work.
Charles K. Fisher
WILLIAM DANIEL FISHER, the son of Valentine C. and Emma (Lint or Lind) Fisher, was born on July 21, 1877, in Baltic, Ohio. He attended Canton College (1905-1907), Kent State University, Bethany Biblical Seminary (1909-1910), Manchester College (A.B., 1920), and the Reformed Theological Seminary, Lancaster, Pennsylvania (B.D., 1930) ; he received an honorary D.D. degree from Webster University in 1941. Elizabeth Miller became his wife on August 21, 1898; one daughter was born to them. Brother Fisher was ordained to the ministry on June 4, 1904, in the Sugarcreek church, and to the eldership on September 24, 1916. These churches have been the fields of his pastoral labors: Baltic and Bunker Hill, Ohio, 1904-1923; Nappanee, Indiana, 1923-1925; Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1925-1932; Trotwood, Ohio, 1932-1936; Wooster, Ohio, 1936-1941. He was a member of the mission board of Northeastern Ohio, 1922-1925; alternate moderator, 1938-1939; writing clerk, 1939-1940; moderator, 1940-1941; a Standing Committee delegate, 1941. Holding a life high school teacher's certificate in Ohio, he taught a total of thirty-three years in the public schools. His death occurred on September 3, 1960.
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