USA > West Virginia > A history of the Church of the Brethren in the first district of West Virginia > Part 11
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Abernathy, James
In 1854 Bro. Abernathy moved to near Wilsons Mills, above Bayard, West Virginia, and there in 1856 he was baptized by John Kline. That was then in the bounds of the German Set- tlement (Eglon) congregation and he did much preaching in that vicinity. He had a son, Isaac, who was also a minister, but his ministry was more in the Fairview congregation, after that sec- tion went with Western Maryland.
Arnold, Albert S.
Elder A. S. Arnold, son of John S. and Susanna Shaffer Ar- nold, was born May 5, 1862, in what is now the Fairview congre- gation, Western Maryland, but was then a part of the First Dis- trict of West Virginia. Albert was twelve years old at the time of his father's death and as a dutiful son he contributed his labors to keep the family together.
He united with the church in April 1881 and lived faithful to that faith until the end of life. He was elected as deacon in 1893, elected as minister in 1897, advanced to the second degree in 1897, and ordained as elder in 1906. He was united in marriage to Lizzie Fike, daughter of Peter Fike, Jr., of Eglon, West Virginia.
During his early ministry he served in the home congrega- tion, Eglon, and elsewhere, keeping appointments on horseback or walking, braving all kinds of inclement weather. While he
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was away his family kept the work going, and he often encour- aged them, saying they did it better than if he had been there. He never refused to go when called. He was obedient to the church. His records show that he baptized two hundred eighty- two persons, solemnized thirty-nine marriages, and preached nearly one hundred funerals.
In 1915 he accepted a call to a place of greater need in the White Pine congregation, where there were fewer ministers. This church he served and labored with until his death on August 8, 1938. Death came to him in the stillness of the night at his son Jesse's home in Petersburg, West Virginia, after a day in seeming good health attending the memorial service for Alva Harsh at Maple Spring.
Their home was blessed with four sons and three daughters. They are Julius (deacon), Harvey (minister), Elma Helmick, Mary Hinkle, Jesse (deacon), Foster, and Anna Ferribee. A fifth son died in infancy.
Arnold, A. W.
Bro. A. W. Arnold was born and reared in the Arnold fam- ilies of Beaver Run, and served for some time in the ministry in West Virginia. For a number of years now, however, he has been serving in the West. At present he is at Phoenix, Arizona.
Arnold, Benjamin
Bro. Benjamin was a son of Deacon Zechariah Arnold, one of the original Arnolds who came to Beaver Run, and one of a fam- ily of seven sons and two daughters. To him and his wife, Mar- garet, were born four sons: Michael, Elder Daniel B., Taylor, and George S., also a minister. The two minister sons were much more widely known than the father.
Arnold, Charles Edward
Oldest son of Elder Daniel B. Arnold, Charles was born May 13, 1866. He made good use of his opportunities, for at the age of seventeen he had a first-grade teacher's certificate and was teaching school. At nineteen he entered Bridgewater College, and later attended Ohio Normal University. In 1893 he accepted the chair of mathematics at McPherson College, Kansas, and in 1896 was called to the presidency of that institution, occupying it with the hearty approval of the faculty, students, and trustees.
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In September 1891 he married Ella Beahm and to this union two children, Ruth and Russell, were born.
Religiously he was an example to all. At nineteen he ac- cepted Christ and became active in Sunday-school work. In 1894 at McPherson he was called to the ministry and four years later was ordained to the eldership, but the field of his special delight was always educational. His life was short and on May 31, 1902, he passed away and was buried within sight of the college he served.
Arnold, Daniel B.
Daniel B., son of Benjamin and Margaret Arnold, must have been born before 1850. His father and his younger brother, George S., were also ministers. Their home was on Beaver Run in Hampshire County.
Bro. Arnold was a very active minister in the district, trav- eling much to preach the gospel in needy churches. He also served much in district capacities and often on Standing Com- mittee. He was much loved and respected everywhere. His death came in 1914 at his later home at Eglon.
Arnold, George S.
The Arnold family is one of the first to bring the Church of the Brethren to West Virginia. The grandfather of George, Zechariah, moved from Frederick, Maryland, to Manorland, now Beaver Run, about 1785, together with two brothers and two sis- ters. The father of George, Benjamin, was a minister. Of his family of four sons, two were ministers, Daniel and George.
George S., son of Benjamin and Margaret Arnold, was born March 30, 1853, and died at the ripe age of eighty-three years, six months and twenty-one days. On April 20, 1880, he and Lydia Glick of Virginia were married, and in her he found an ever-true helpmeet, pleasant, sweet, and modest. This union was blessed with one daughter, Bessie, who married Elder A. S. A. Holsinger. This home was always open to any church worker or other person who chose to enter.
Bro. Arnold dedicated his life to the Lord at the age of twenty-one. The church, noting his talent and his devoted life, called him to the ministry at the age of twenty-three, and or- dained him to the ministry in 1891. He served faithfully in every capacity of church service, both in the congregation and
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in the district, serving eleven years on the district ministerial board.
At twenty-one years of age he entered the normal school at Fairmont and completed his work there in 1879. He taught school for many years, served as superintendent of schools of Mineral County from 1883-1893 and 1899-1911, a total of twenty- two years. Upon his voluntary retirement he was presented with a beautiful chair by the teachers of the county and with a most beautiful tribute to his faithful service and gentlemanly Christian character. On his eightieth birthday he received over two hundred greetings.
He was known as the sweet singer in Israel, a most lovable character, always manifesting a humble and forgiving spirit un- der trying circumstances. His funeral was conducted on Octo- ber 25, 1936, by Elders B. W. Smith and E. T. Fike from the Beaver Run church. He was one of the fine leaders of the church in West Virginia and an outstanding citizen of Mineral County.
Arnold, Harvey E.
Harvey Elza, second son of Elder Albert S. and Lizzie Fike Arnold, was born near Eglon, West Virginia, November 5, 1889.
He prepared himself for teaching by attending the elemen- tary schools and summer schools at Terra Alta. Then he taught four terms of school, three of which were in the home school, where he had among other pupils: Mrs. E. K. Ziegler, mission- ary to Africa; Foster M. Bittinger, pastor at Westernport, and Desmond Bittinger, present editor of the Gospel Messenger.
Always Harvey loved the church and served in every way possible-in the Sunday school, the music department, the young people's department and the ministry. On June 14, 1911, he was married to Malinda Vought of Salisbury, Pennsylvania, and to this union were born five daughters and one son (deceased). In 1916 the family moved to Old Fields, West Virginia, where they were active in the work of the church and in the ministry, to which Harvey was called in 1918. In 1919 they moved to Keyser, where he was ordained to the eldership in 1928, serving that congregation as elder. In 1932 the family moved to Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, where he is at present associate elder of the con- gregation. Not having opportunity to prepare for the full-time ministry he has served mostly through the Sunday school and other church activities but he has served willingly and gladly.
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Arnold, John A.
Bro. John A. Arnold was born April 27, 1858. He was mar- ried on May 18, 1884, to Mary S. Fike, who died October 28, 1892. He married Fannie Good on August 5, 1897. He was elected dea- con in 1891, elected to the ministry in 1893, advanced to the sec- ond degree in 1894, and ordained to the eldership in 1905. He died April 4, 1932. He served the church most at Friends Gap on Laurel Mountain, Lime Rock, Sugarland, Red Creek, and Dry Fork, as well as at other mission points.
Arnold, Joseph
Bro. Joseph Arnold was a very active minister and elder in the days of John Kline's work in West Virginia, and in the years following. His name is mentioned in connection with the start of many struggling churches in the district. He traveled far and wide but his work centered around the Beaver Run congrega- tion and environs. He was born in 1799, elected to the ministry in 1836, ordained in 1841, and died in 1876.
Arnold, Peter
Bro. Peter Arnold was born in 1840, of the Arnold families on Beaver Run. He, like others of the Arnolds, was rather active in the ministry.
Arnold, Samuel
Elder Samuel Arnold was one of a family of Arnolds of Ger- man descent, living in the Middletown Valley, Maryland, near Frederick. About the year 1785 he with others of the family, Zechariah, Dan, Catherine, and Charity, moved to what is now known as Beaver Run, then called Manorland, near Burlington, West Virginia. There Samuel married Mary Ludwig and to them were born two sons and ten daughters, of whom Magdalene Arnold Fike was one. He is said to have owned the first top buggy in the vicinity and people came for miles to see it. On March 29, 1831, he had a span of colts hitched to the buggy and they became frightened and, running away, killed him.
He was a minister of great activity, traveling afar to preach, and was the first minister of the Church of the Brethren to preach in the environs of the Eglon congregation. He was known as the preacher with a beard.
In the cemetery on the ridge east of Beaver Run Valley Bro.
.
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Arnold was buried. The first sandstone marker has been re- placed by one of more modern design, but it is still used as a marker at the entrance to show the grave of a great pioneer of the church in West Virginia.
This may be said of his children: John died young; Jacob married Sarah Wine and later Sarah Ogg; Magdalene married Peter Fike; Nancy married Jacob Garber; Hannah married Jacob Biser; Susan married Nicholas Biser; Betsy married John Ogg; Christina married Dan Livengood; Rebecca married John Leatherman; Lydia married George High; Mollie married John Fleming; Catherine married John Long. Almost all of the Ar- nold relationship were members of the church.
Baker, J. H.
Bro. Baker was elected to the ministry in the Sunnyside con- gregation on March 30, 1895.
Baker, Raphael
Raphael Baker, son of Peter and Mark Baker, was born in Shenandoah County, Virginia, November 13, 1840, and died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Lillie C. Moore, Bismarck, West Virginia, December 13, 1932. He came to Keyser, then New Creek Station, about 1861 and with the exception of a short time spent in Ohio during the Civil War he had his home thereafter in West Virginia. On January 25, 1866, he married Lucinda Sisk, who preceded him in death on March 3, 1910. Four daugh- ters were born to them. About 1859 he united with the Church of the Brethren and in 1885 was elected to the ministry and served in that office faithfully as long as his health would per- mit. He was blind for five years, having had an unsuccessful operation for cataract, but through it all he was cheerful. He would quote Scripture and repeat songs that he loved, always finding in them some comforting thought or precious promise which would cheer and compose his soul. He was buried in the family cemetery after his funeral had been conducted in the Locust Grove church by Elder B. W. Smith.
Bane, William W.
Elder William W. Bane, son of Abner and Martha Whipp Bane, was born November 19, 1885, and died May 22, 1943, at his home six miles south of Burlington, West Virginia. He was one of the many fine farmer ministers who have so well served the church. He had some training for the ministry at Potomac
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State and Bridgewater College. On April 1, 1914, he was united in marriage to Etta High and to this union were born two sons, William, Jr., now serving in a Civilian Public Service camp at Beltsville, Maryland, and Robert, at home. Bro. Bane accepted Christ as his Savior in 1903 and was called to the ministry by the Beaver Run congregation in 1908, and later to the eldership. With deep humility, consecration, and honor he served his home congregation and the White Pine congregation as elder. He also has served the district for a number of years as director of the child rescue home, a member of the ministerial board, and a number of times as Standing Committeeman. He was a good farmer, a successful home builder, and an influential servant of God. Funeral services were conducted in the Beaver Run church by A. R. Showalter, assisted by E. T. Fike and A. S. A. Holsinger, and his body was laid to rest in the near-by cemetery. Barnes, Fleming C.
Bro. Barnes was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1839. When about six years old he was brought to Preston County, West Virginia, and lived a few years with his aunt, and was then taken into the family of Samuel A. Boger, where he resided until of age.
He began teaching school at the age of twenty-one and taught eight successive terms, and then went to farming on a farm two miles from the Salem church in the Sandy Creek congregation. On April 20, 1862, he was married to Alcinda Guthrie, and the following year was elected to the ministry. They were much in- terested in the work of the church and did much for the church and for the poor and needy. To them were born five daughters and two sons, all faithful members of the church. Bro. Barnes died in 1927 at the age of eighty-eight years.
Beeghly, Benjamin
Benjamin Beeghly, whose father and mother came from Germany, was born on March 26, 1821. He was the first elder of the Eglon congregation. His residence was at Aurora, then West Union, and he lived there possibly by about 1855. His first marriage was to Leah Horner, his second to Polly Mosser. Biser, Jacob
Jacob Biser was called to the ministry in the Beaver Run congregation.
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Biser, M. M.
Bro. M. M. Biser is a minister of the Beaver Run congrega- tion, but has likely never been very active.
Biser, Solomon
Bro. Solomon Biser lived in the Beaver Run congregation and did a good bit of preaching in the surrounding churches. He is a descendant of Sam Arnold through a daughter, Hannah, who married Jacob Biser.
Bittinger, Desmond Wright
Bro. Bittinger was born December 16, 1905, to Brother Jonas H. and Sister Etta Fike Bittinger near Eglon, West Virginia. He was licensed to preach in September 1922 and installed in September 1923 in the Maple Spring church. He was ordained to the eldership in Africa in the fall of 1930.
His educational record is as follows: elementary school, Eg- lon; high school, Aurora; Elizabethtown College, A. B. degree, 1927; University of Pennsylvania, A. M. degree, 1934, Ph. D. de- gree, 1940.
On June 15, 1927, he was married to Irene Frantz at Eliza- bethtown, Pennsylvania. To this union children were born as follows: Stanley, 1928; Patricia, 1930; Richard, 1937; Marianne, 1941.
He has served the church in the following capacities: student summer pastorates in New York state, Missouri, and Virginia; pastor, Lima, Ohio, 1927-29; missionary to Africa, 1930-39, and while there served two years as chairman of the mission, and treasurer of the mission for three years; professor of sociology and education, McPherson College, McPherson, Kansas, 1940-44; member of mission and ministerial board, Southwestern Kansas, 1941-44; member General Mission Board, Church of the Breth- ren, 1942-43; member Standing Committee, 1933 and 1939; edi- tor of the Gospel Messenger, official publication of the Church of the Brethren, 1944 -.
Thus he has served through many avenues and in many fields the church he loves and believes in, but most of his life has been lived outside his native state of West Virginia. But wherever he has served he has done his service well and found a great joy in it. He is now serving well in one of the most responsible and influential places in our church.
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Bittinger, Emmert Foster
Emmert was born at Jordan Run, West Virginia, on Sept. 22, 1925, the first child of Foster and Esther Bair Bittinger. This oc- curred in the little log cabin where the parents lived during their first pastorate. He accepted Christ at Browntown, Virginia, along with his two younger sisters and all were baptized by their father July 30, 1933. He attended the public schools in Virginia and West Virginia, graduating from Bruce High in Westernport, Maryland, in 1943. Because of the accelerated school program for ministerial students in wartime, immediately upon graduation from high school he entered Potomac State College at Keyser and remained there until the summer of 1944, when he entered Bridgewater College.
From early childhood when asked what he wanted to do when he grew up, Emmert would answer, "Be what daddy is," or "Be a preacher." In 1943 the Westernport congregation called him to the ministry and he was licensed on March 21, 1943. On May 21, 1944, he was ordained to the full ministry. His plans are to finish college and Bethany Seminary, preparing himself for service in the church. He is a young man of deep consecration and promise.
Bittinger, Foster 'M.
Bro. Foster was born June 11, 1901, son of Jonas and Etta Fike Bittinger, at Accident, Maryland. Shortly after his birth the family moved to a farm near the Accident school in the Eg- lon congregation. There he attended public school and Sunday school, much of the time his mother being his Sunday-school teacher.
He taught school at the age of seventeen and later attended Elizabethtown Academy, where he graduated in 1922, and then finished his college work at Bridgewater in 1927.
On June 3, 1924, he was married to Esther Bair of Blackrock, Pennsylvania. To them the following children have been born: Emmert, 1925 (now a minister); Virginia, 1927; Annabelle, 1927; Mildred, 1929 (deceased, 1929); and Kathleen, 1932.
He has served in pastorates at Red Creek one summer; North Fork in West Virginia; Browntown, Virginia; Madison, Virginia; Terra Alta, West Virginia; and at present in the Westernport and Frostburg churches in Western Maryland. He also served
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as field director in West Virginia, as a member of various district boards in a number of districts, as regional board representative, as representative to the West Virginia Council of Churches, and as Standing Committeeman, etc. He has served in various ways in the Camp Galilee program and administration, and has often been moderator of district meeting.
He believes that the Church of the Brethren is here for such a day as this and wants to see her program put into world-wide operation, beginning in our own hearts.
Boger, John
John, son of Christian Boger, a German immigrant, was born at Pine Hill, Pennsylvania, in 1774. In 1808 he came with his fam- ily to near Brandonville, West Virginia, where he served as jus- tice of the peace and as a minister of the Church of the Brethren. He was the first minister known to be elected in the Sandy Creek congregation, having been elected about 1830-35. He and Jacob Thomas preached in the first church house built at Salem in 1845. He preached in German. He died in 1852 and is buried on the Boger farm near his birthplace.
During his latter years he studied prophecy and wrote a treatise on prophecy, which was the first printed volume emanat- ing from Preston County.1 This treatise came into the hands of Pastor Russell and formed the foundation of his calculations for the Millennial Dawn Church (Jehovah's Witnesses).2
Bohrer, Anthony
Bro. Bohrer was baptized in 1904 and at the fall council of that year was elected to the deaconship, and at the spring coun- cil of 1905 he was elected to the ministry by the unanimous vote of the church, Elder Peter Arnold presiding. He and Luther Shanholtz traveled much together preaching the gospel. Bro. B. W. Smith preached the first sermon in the Old Excelsior school where Bro. Bohrer now lives. He has served the church faithfully through his ministry, according to his talent, and his home was always open to men of God.
Bowman, Oscar F.
A native of Harrisonburg, Virginia, Oscar is the son of Elder S. I. Bowman. He received his B. A. degree from Bridgewater
1 Morton, History of Preston County. Page 324.
2 Thomas, Susie, History of the Sandy Creek Congregation. Page 30.
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College and his B. D. from Bethany Biblical Seminary. He is an ordained elder and has served as pastor of churches in both Virginia and West Virginia. He has served on the district boards of the District of Northern Virginia and as elder of the Smith Creek congregation in Virginia. Mrs. Bowman is the former Mildred Thompson of Harrisonburg, Virginia, who is also a grad- uate of Bridgewater College. Their home is blessed with two children, Rebecca and Paul.
They came to West Virginia to serve the Tear Coat congrega- tion in 1943 and their service has been appreciated and helpful, both in the local congregation and in the district.
Bucklew, Solomon
Elder Bucklew was born in Preston County, West Virginia, on August 25, 1840. He united with the church in 1860 and in the same year was elected to the deacon's office. In 1862 he was married to Elizabeth Strawser. In 1864 he was elected to the ministry, was soon advanced to the second degree, and about 1866 was ordained to the eldership.
The need was great and he pushed out far and near to labor for the salvation of souls. He was called upon for many series of meetings through West Virginia and Pennsylvania. He was a man of great stature, making a very dignified and awe-inspir- ing impression in the pulpit. His voice and manner were very commanding. Folks who have heard him at his best have told me with tears of his wonderful sermons.
In 1876 he moved from the Cheat River congregation to Sandy Creek. After that congregation was divided and the Markleysburg congregation was organized, he was given over- sight of that congregation. In 1884 he moved to Markleysburg, and in 1887 to Canton, Illinois. From there, because of his wife's failing health, he moved to the home of his daughter in Iowa, where his wife died. Feeling lonely, he made a preaching trip through the East, visiting his homeland, and again settling in Markleysburg. There on February 6, 1914, he married his sec- ond wife, Sister Mary C. Sterner. In the spring of 1915 they moved to the Mt. Union (Morgantown) congregation, where he served as elder and pastor. There he died in 1926 after having preached for sixty-one years.
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Burgess, Albert
Bro. Burgess has been serving for a number of years as a supply minister, going where needed and called. He is a high school teacher by profession and resides at Keyser, West Vir- ginia. Both he and his wife are workers in the Keyser church when he is not out preaching elsewhere on Sunday. They have a family of two girls.
Cassady, John Harry
Elder J. H. Cassady was born on a farm in Grant County, West Virginia, on October 24, 1871. He began teaching school at the age of nineteen, and thereafter taught school in the winter and worked on the farm in the summertime. To further his education he attended Fairmont State Normal two terms. On January 25, 1896, he was married to Miss Meribah Idelman, of Maysville, West Virginia. On December 25, 1890, he united with the Church of the Brethren during a series of meetings con- ducted by Elder Silas Hoover of Pennsylvania. He was elected to the deaconship at the Brick church in 1897.
Teaching was his chosen profession and he continued teach- ing at Bayard until 1900, when he entered Juniata College to pre- pare himself better. Through financial difficulties he struggled to graduation. While at Juniata he was called to the ministry on March 23, 1903. This brought a problem. His preparation and planning had been for the teaching profession. After much prayer and thought he accepted, still with the intention of con- tinuing his teaching. And after graduation he did continue teaching until he received a call to become pastor of the West Johnstown church. This presented still another problem, but, after much prayer, he and his good wife put it into the hands of the Lord, and were led to accept the call.
The Lord blessed his ministry. He took a leading part in the work of the districts of Western and Middle Pennsylvania, where he served. Sister Cassady, who was also born and reared in West Virginia, was a constant help and encouragement to him. Their work was mostly done outside the bounds of West Vir- ginia, but we are glad to think of them as products of the church in West Virginia. They had a family of six children, viz., May- nard, Mildred, Helen, Robert, Paul, and John, Jr.
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