A history of the Church of the Brethren in the first district of West Virginia, Part 15

Author: Bittinger, Foster Melvin, 1901-1959
Publication date: 1945-04-23
Publisher: Brethren Publishing House
Number of Pages: 199


USA > West Virginia > A history of the Church of the Brethren in the first district of West Virginia > Part 15


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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He was married to Anna Florence Cline on September 2, 1925, and they now have three children.


Simmons, Omar N.


Omar is the faithful minister of the church at Sugarland, Mackeysville, Rosendale, and Mill Run. As he says, he works in the tannery for a living but preaches Christ. He has been a member of the church for about ten years and an ordained min- ister about seven. He lives in his own home in Hamilton and is happy in the service of the church.


Smith, Benjamin W.


Bro. B. W. Smith was born in Hampshire County, West Vir- ginia, near what is known as Hoy, on September 4, 1860. He united with the church at the age of nineteen, and was baptized by Elder D. B. Arnold. He was elected to the ministry at the age of twenty-seven years and was ordained to the eldership soon afterward. He has served in the ministry for about fifty- five years and is still active and able to drive his car.


He has lived a life of very active service for his church and his Master. Many congregations in West Virginia owe their start in large part to his faithful pioneering work. He has served the district in many capacities, on various boards, and especially on the board of trustees for the orphanage at Eglon. Besides that he was a farmer, a maker of coffins, and a funeral director. Often he served at a funeral as the maker of the coffin, as funeral director, and as minister. He has served as elder of many con- gregations in the district, and of some of them for many years. He has worked faithfully in the compiling of material for this history.


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Smith, Samson


Bro. Samson Smith was called to the ministry in the Green- land congregation.


Smith, William


Bro. Smith was elected to the ministry in the Knobley con- gregation but the time of his election cannot be found. His health gave way and he passed on to his reward several years ago.


Snyder, Phineas


Bro. Snyder was elected to the ministry in the Knobley con- gregation May 14, 1910. After serving for a while in that congre- gation he moved to Deer Park, Maryland, and is now serving in the Oak Grove congregation in Western Maryland.


Spaid, Daniel B.


Daniel B. Spaid, the seventh son and the tenth child of Nich- olas Leatherman Spaid and Sarah Angeline Spaid, was born June 13, 1890, at Concord, Hampshire County, West Virginia. On August 18, 1909, he was baptized into the Church of the Brethren by Elder A. W. Arnold and following that spent a part of the year in Blue Ridge Academy. The following spring he took the teachers' uniform examination and began teaching in the fall of 1910; he continued teaching for eight years in Hamp- shire County and eleven years in Preston County.


On June 15, 1918, he was licensed to preach by Elders George S. and Peter Arnold. On July 22 of the same year he was called to the army and entered as a conscientious objector, was placed in the medical corps and left for France on September 4. His first two sermons were preached in a French barrack at All- camps, France, which the Americans were using as a Y.M.C.A. Returning home May 23, 1919, he preached his third sermon at Maple Spring on June 1.


He married Grace Fike, daughter of Elder Jonas Fike, on August 28, 1919. He was ordained to the eldership on November 11, 1934, by Elders E. T. Fike, A. S. Arnold, and Earle Fike. Since his marriage he has lived in the Eglon congregation, farm- ing, teaching school and serving the Eglon church as one of her faithful ministers, and also serving as minister for a number of years in the Red Creek congregation. They have one adopted son, at present in a C.P.S. camp, and one son still at home.


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Staggs, Slone


Bro. Staggs is a rather young minister in the Beaver Run congregation.


Teets, W. Lindsey


On November 28, 1883, near Terra Alta, in the bounds of the Cheat River congregation, Bro. Teets was born. He attended the elementary schools to get all the education he could, there being no high schools then, and later had two summers at a normal school and one summer at Potomac State. He has lived on a farm all his life and in addition to farming and preaching has taught in the rural schools for thirty-two years.


He united with the church in October 1897 during a meeting held at the Freeland church by E. T. Fike. Two years later he was elected to the office of deacon. On August 2, 1903, he was united in marriage to Dora Elma Fike, daughter of Elder John S. Fike. To this union were born six children, and in addition they also secured from the Eglon orphanage Virginia Reel and Harry Largent and gave them a home for a number of years.


Bro. Teets was elected to the ministry in December 1910 and installed by Elder C. D. Bonsack; about a year later he was ad- vanced to the second degree, and a few years afterward to the eldership. He has taken his turn in the appointments in the Eglon congregation, and before the days of good roads walked and rode over Tucker, Randolph, and Pendleton counties preach- ing. He has been a humble and faithful servant of the church, working in the pulpit and the Sunday school.


Thomas, Chester A.


In the village of Hazelton, West Virginia, Chester, son of Jeremiah and Susanna Seese Thomas, was born March 25, 1886. He was reared on a farm. He attended the public schools of the state, and Fairmont State Teachers College, and began teaching in 1905; he still continues teaching.


On May 19, 1908, he was married to Grace Wolfe and to them were born two daughters, Pauline Edna in 1910 and Alma Grace in 1916. Chester joined the church at the age of fourteen, was elected to the deaconship in 1910, to the ministry in 1913, was advanced to the second degree in 1915, and in 1935, after the death of his father, Jeremiah, was elected presiding elder of the Sandy Creek congregation. Thus as a farmer, teacher, and min- ister of the gospel he serves his community.


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Thomas, Jacob


The Thomas family started with three brothers who came from Wales in colonial days. One, Alexander, located on a farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. His son Michael was born in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. There he married and to that union were born seven sons and three daughters. Jacob, subject of this sketch, was the oldest; he was born March 15, 1795.


In 1810 the family moved to a farm near Markleysburg, Pennsylvania, near the West Virginia line. There Jacob grew to manhood. His mother was the first person to be baptized in the Sandy Creek congregation. On August 8, 1816, he was united in marriage to Mary Fike. On his farm about four miles east of Brandonville he built his pioneer home and there spent the rest of his life. Four sons and six daughters were born to them. One grandson, Jeremiah, became a great leader in the church and a great minister.


When thirty-five years of age Jacob united with the church and became an earnest student of the Bible, being able to read both German and English. In 1836, one year after the organiza- tion of the Sandy Creek congregation, he was called to the min- istry, and became a preacher with a great gift as expounder of Christian doctrines, and as a missionary. In 1841 he was or- dained to the eldership, the first elder called in the First District of West Virginia. Under his fatherly shepherding the church grew, and in 1845 the Salem church house was built.


But his ministry was not confined to his home church. Astride his horse he planted the seed of the gospel over a wide territory in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland. Some- times he was gone for three or four months. Sometimes he trav- eled in company with Elders Samuel A. Fike and Jacob Beeghly. He was a large man and had great endurance. He was a leader in his district, and served as moderator, and also as delegate to Standing Committee, several times. He was widely read and well informed.


On November 21, 1881, at the age of eighty-six years, he passed on and his body was laid to rest in the family cemetery, not far from the Salem church. The home place was divided between Noah and Scott, grandsons. The eldership of the


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church passed to his grandson, Jeremiah, and at his death to a great-grandson, Chester.


Thomas, Jeremiah


Bro. Thomas was born near Brandonville, West Virginia, on June 20, 1862, the son of Andrew and Barbara Boger Thomas, and a grandson of Jacob M. Thomas. He attended the schools available, once hiring help for his father's farm that he might attend the university. He began teaching school at the age of nineteen and taught for fifteen years. He was a gifted teacher and his pupils learned of the spirit of the Teacher of Galilee through him.


At the age of twenty he was married to Susanna Seese. To them three children were born: Walter, Chester (the present elder of the Sandy Creek congregation), and Ethel.


Most of his life Bro. Thomas lived on his farm near the Salem church, but he had a wide range of interests. Among these in- terests were: a company store in Hazelton; the bank at Bruceton Mills, which he served as president, cashier, and in other ways; the Bruceton Milling Company, of which he was the president; the Kingwood and Bruceton Telephone Company, of which he was president; helping found a high school; helping get better roads; serving as an honorary member of the W.C.T.U., and many other organizations.


In January 1877 he was baptized by Solomon Bucklew. On January 14, 1882, he was elected to the ministry; on July 4, 1885, promoted to the second degree; and on March 23, 1889, at the age of twenty-six, ordained to the eldership to take charge of the home congregation. Under his care the congregation grew from a group with one small house to one with many houses, one of the largest congregations in the brotherhood. No road was ever too long nor any night too dark for him to answer a call. He was a good elder and pastor, though serving without compensation. During his ministry he preached one thousand eighty-three fu- nerals, baptized one thousand three hundred thirteen persons, married five hundred fifty-seven couples, anointed two hundred forty-five persons, and preached four thousand three hundred twenty-five sermons. He often expressed appreciation for his good wife, who endured hardships at home while he was away preaching the gospel.


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For the last few years of his life he was in failing health, suf- fering of heart disease. In the evening of July 12, 1934, he was found lying on the floor of his home. The end had come sud- denly. At his funeral eighteen ministers and two thousand friends and relatives were present.


Thomas, Michael M.


Michael Thomas was born in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, on January 18, 1804, and was ordained to the ministry at the same time as Andrew Umbel. Married twice, he was the father of sixteen children. Though he was a minister in the church for many years, his labors were confined to the limits of his local church. He died July 28, 1898, in his ninety-fifth year, and was buried on his own farm.


Tusing, D. W.


D. W. Tusing was born August 29, 1891, at Mathias, West Vir- ginia. In 1910 he was baptized by Elder W. L. Riggleman in North River, under the bridge at Bro. John Riggleman's resi- dence, after a revival held by Elder John S. Fike.


He moved to the Old Furnace congregation on September 29, 1923. There he was elected to the office of deacon on October 3, 1928, and installed in the deacon's office on June 12, 1929, Elder B. W. Smith being in charge. Soon he was called to the ministry by the Old Furnace congregation and licensed on April 21, 1938; he was ordained to the ministry on April 19, 1939. The Old Fur- nace congregation called for his ordination to the eldership November 1, 1941.


He had served faithfully in the work of the Sunday school at Wiley Ford for many years before his call to the ministry. Since being in the ministry he has served in an increasing way his home church and others.


Umbel, Andrew


Andrew Umbel, son of Isaac and Nancy Umbel, was born July 9, 1802, near Markleysburg, Pennsylvania. He was married to Anna Thomas on January 22, 1825, and they united with the church in their young days. To them were born three daughters and five sons, three of whom were deacons, and one, Samuel, an elder.


Bro. Umbel was a minister for nearly fifty years, though by trade a tanner. He preached more powerfully by his consistent,


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upright life than he did from the pulpit. He gave liberally to the church and to the needy. He did not believe in taking interest for loans, and across the back of notes he held against people he wrote, "This note is without interest." His last words were "Praise the Lord."


Umbel, Samuel C.


Samuel, son of Andrew and Anne Thomas Umbel, was born May 20, 1835. They were of English descent. On December 22, 1854, he was married to Martha L. Brown, daughter of a minister of the Church of God. On June 12, 1855, both united with the Church of the Brethren in the Sandy Creek congregation. He was elected to the ministry March 14, 1856, advanced to the sec- ond degree in 1860, and in 1906 was ordained to the eldership. He started preaching before he was twenty-one and preached for more than fifty-nine years. He had a large territory to cover, and when Markleysburg separated from Sandy Creek he went with the former.


Van Sickle, George W.


George, son of Zechariah and Mary Burgess Van Sickle, was born October 24, 1869, near Glade Farms, West Virginia, in a log cabin on the Maryland-West Virginia state line. They slept on the Maryland side and ate in West Virginia. He attended twenty-seven days in his first school year and only two days in his second.


Sometime before 1898 Bro. Van Sickle was elected to the min- istry; the election came as quite a surprise to him. He was called to the eldership in 1917. He lived on his farm near Hazel- ton and faithfully fulfilled his duty as a minister.


. On. April 7, 1892, he was married to Martha Guthrie, daughter of Rev. Joseph Guthrie, and to this union were born six children, one of whom, Walter, is a minister.


Van Sickle, Walter


Bro. Walter, son of Rev. George and Martha Guthrie Van Sickle, was born in 1895. He was elected to the ministry in the Sandy Creek congregation in April 1918 and advanced to the full ministry April 6, 1919. In the summer of 1923 Bro. Van Sickle attended Bethany Bible School and again in the winter of 1924-25.


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In 1922 he was united in marriage to Grace Hewitt. No chil- dren have been born into their home, but they have taken two homeless children and reared them as their own. He taught school from 1917-1930. Today he serves his community as post- master, merchant, and minister of the gospel.


Vought, Charles E.


Bro. Vought was born July 3, 1893, at Meyersdale, Pennsyl- vania. During World War I he was in the army as a conscien- tious objector, undergoing intense persecution and hardship. One night he spent expecting death at dawn, because he would not put on the uniform.


He was installed into the ministry in the Maple Spring church March 1, 1919, and since that time has served the church as he felt the Lord call him. Because he felt he could serve bet- ter in ways other than preaching, he served as superintendent of the Eglon orphanage for six and one-half years. He has taken his turn preaching in the Eglon congregation and held one evangelistic meeting at Rodamer, West Virginia.


They have six children, three boys and three girls, including one orphaned girl whom they are rearing.


Waybright, Wilma Bittinger


Wilma Bittinger was born at Brookside, West Virginia, on June 21, 1911, to John and Cora Fike Bittinger. She was bap- tized in June 1922. She graduated from the Aurora high school in 1929, spent the year 1930-31 at Bridgewater College, spent twelve weeks in 1931 at West Virginia University, and took cor- respondence courses from Shepherd College and from Columbia University. One year, 1931-32, she taught school. She was li- censed to preach September 5, 1930, and permanently licensed September 5, 1931, at the Maple Spring church. On December 24, 1931, she was united in marriage to Noah W. Waybright of Erwin, West Virginia, and to that union children have been born as follows: Glenn Everett, May 11, 1933; Janet Wilma, May 29, 1939; Wendell Noah, October 12, 1942.


Since having been permanently licensed she has taken her turn at the different churches in the Eglon congregation, and has always filled her appointments, excepting when sick; she started filling her appointments when her babies were one month old. The Waybrights always take their children where she preaches


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and the good husband takes care of the children during the services. In addition to preaching she has worked faithfully in the Sunday school at Brookside in various offices. She and her husband have served the church faithfully. In addition to her work for the church she shares the work on the home farm.


Weimer, Asa


Bro. Asa was born June 9, 1877, the son of Israel Weimer, who was also a minister. His wife, Mary Elizabeth Keplinger, was born April 17, 1890, and died in July 1915. Asa loves the church and his Lord, but, having an impediment of speech, feels he can serve more in other ways than through the pulpit. His services have been mostly in the Greenland congregation. He lives at Streby.


Weimer, Dennis


Bro. Dennis was born in 1850. He was elected to the min- istry in 1871, in the Eglon congregation.


Weimer, Israel


Bro. Weimer was born November 7, 1853. His wife, Margaret Frances Burgess, was born in 1855 and died January 17, 1927. He served earnestly in the North Fork and Greenland congrega- tions, and at times elsewhere. He died January 11, 1929, at his home near Streby, West Virginia.


Weimer, Jacob


Bro. Jacob was one of the first ministers in the Eglon con- gregation. He had three sons, Israel, Dennis, and Samuel, who were ministers. Some of them later moved east of the mountain.


Weimer, Samuel


Samuel was a son of Jacob Weimer, who was also a minister. Their home was originally in the Eglon congregation.


Welch, Carl H.


Born to Brother and Sister D. P. Welch at Warrensville, North Carolina, on April 12, 1906, was a son whom they named Carl. After finishing college at Bridgewater in 1933 he spent two years serving his home church, Flat Rock, and teaching at the same time. He then spent one year, 1935-36, at Bethany, and the next year in mission work in the mountains of North Carolina.


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He was installed into the ministry in August 1932 and or- dained to the eldership in September 1937; in that year he came to West Virginia to serve the Petersburg and Greenland churches. He is now residing in the Salem congregation in Northern Virginia and helping out with the local preaching program.


He was married June 9, 1932. His three children are: Helen, 1935; Kenneth, 1937; and Carla Jeane, 1941. He and his wife hope to get back into full-time church work soon.


West, Russell Greene


Bro. West was born in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Vir- ginia, September 12, 1894. He took his high school work at Hebron Brethren Seminary, Nokesville, Virginia, and received his A. B. degree at Bridgewater College in 1922, and his B. D. degree at Bethany Biblical Seminary in 1931. He was converted and baptized at Nokesville in February 1915, called to the min- istry and installed in May 1917, and ordained to the eldership in Keyser, West Virginia, in 1924.


He served as summer pastor at Moorefield, West Virginia, in 1920 and 1921, and was pastor of the Keyser church from 1922 to 1928, during which time the membership increased from fifty to two hundred sixty-four. While there he served the First Dis- trict on the board of Christian education and on Standing Com- mittee at La Verne in 1928. While there he helped start the church at Westernport, Maryland.


He also served as pastor at Batavia, Illinois, 1928-31; Indian- apolis, Indiana, 1931-35; First church in Roanoke, Virginia, 1935- 39, and at Pampa, Texas, 1939 -. He has been very active in religious education and training work. wherever he has served, having served as director of young people's camps at Mack, Bethel, Galilee, and in the Oklahoma-Texas-New Mexico camps.


He is not native to West Virginia, but he has left a good im- print by his period of service here.


Whitacre, Alphaeus J.


Bro. Whitacre was born near Okonoko, West Virginia, on September 30, 1869. On March 25, 1896, he married Lacy Ann Abe and shortly afterward moved to near Short Gap, Mineral County. To this union were born nine children, five of whom


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are living, and three of whom, Joseph, Jesse, and Howard, are ministers.


In May 1893 he accepted his Lord as Savior, and soon after moving to Short Gap he began a Sunday school in the Abe schoolhouse (1897), at which time his family and that of Jacob Abe were the only Brethren families in the community. This was the beginning of the Old Furnace congregation, and work was carried on continuously from that time.


In 1912 he was called to the ministry and in 1916 to the elder- ship. He has served faithfully in the Sunday school, the min- istry, the eldership, and in the good old way of genuine Brethren hospitality. Elder D. B. Arnold used to say, "It was in Bro. Bud's home that hospitality and a welcome were always found." He was always ready to provide a home for ministers and a stable and feed for their horses. This family has been instru- mental in the building up of the Old Furnace congregation.


In 1924 he sold his farm and moved to Wiley Ford and began there the work of the congregation by organizing a Sunday school in a schoolhouse. The work grew to become at present the Wiley Ford congregation. Since 1936 he has made his home with a son, Jesse, near Short Gap.


Whitacre, A. Ruth


Ruth, daughter of Elder J. C. and Emma Beahm, and wife of Jesse W. Whitacre, was born December 10, 1897, in Brentsville, Virginia. She graduated from the Salisbury, Pennsylvania, high school and taught school the following three years. She gradu- ated from Blue Ridge College with the A. B. degree in 1924. On June 3, 1925, she married Jesse W. Whitacre; to them were born four sons, two of whom, Charles and Daniel, are living.


She gave her heart to the Lord at the age of thirteen years and has served the church through her ministry of teaching, storytelling, music, and mission work. She has served under the district mission board in the mountains of Virginia, under the mission board of Western Pennsylvania among the foreigners, teaching them to use English, to read the Bible, and to sing hymns. In the same capacity she served one summer among the foreigners under the direction of the Windber congregation of Western Pennsylvania. The Old Furnace congregation, feeling the need of more ministerial help and recognizing her ability


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also to speak, called her to the ministry, licensing her May 9, 1942, and permanently licensing her on May 7, 1943. She has served faithfully in her home and in her church.


Whitacre, Charles Jerome


Charles, the oldest son of Jesse and Ruth Beahm Whitacre, was born near Masontown, Pennsylvania, on April 4, 1926. He attended the public schools of Greencastle, Shamokin, and Read- ing, Pennsylvania, and the Fort Ashby high school in West Virginia, from which he graduated. He is continuing his edu- cation and ministerial training at Elizabethtown College.


He gave his heart to the Lord at the age of seven years. Ever since being old enough he has taken an active part in church and Sunday-school work. He has attended Camp Galilee and been a good camper. On October 16, 1943, the Old Furnace church called him to the ministry and he was licensed. Since then he has been taking his turn in filling the pulpit. His future holds promise of much good for service in the vineyard of the Lord.


Whitacre, Howard A.


To Alphaeus J. and Lacy Abe Whitacre their youngest son, Howard, was born April 20, 1906, near Short Gap, West Virginia. At the age of thirteen he united with the church in the Old Fur- nace congregation. There, on April 11, 1931, he was licensed to preach, installed October 7, 1932, and ordained October 30, 1936. He was married to Orpha M. Bennett on October 2, 1935, and to them one daughter has been born. From the beginning of his ministry he has been active in the service. In June 1938 they moved to their present location at Flintstone, Maryland, to take up the pastorate of the Glendale, Artemas, and Amaranth churches of Middle Pennsylvania. He is the third son of his family serving in the ministry of the Church of the Brethren, the others being Joseph and Jesse.


Whitacre, J. S.


Bro. J. S. is a minister of the Old Furnace congregation and there has served most of his ministry, though his work has not been limited to that congregation. For a time he served the Capon Chapel congregation. He resides on a farm near Short Gap, West Virginia.


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Whitacre, Jesse W.


This son of Elder Alphaeus J. and Sister Lacy Abe Whitacre was born near Short Gap on October 6, 1901. He attended the elementary schools near home and got his high school training at Blue Ridge Academy and MeClellandtown, Pennsylvania. He got one year of college training at Elizabethtown College.


At Blue Ridge he met A. Ruth Beahm, daughter of Elder J. C. Beahm. She is also licensed to preach. They were married on June 3, 1925. To this union were born four sons, two of whom are living; Charles is preparing for the ministry.


This family has served the church as follows: pastor, Fair- view church, Pennsylvania, beginning 1925; pastor, Mechanics- burg, Pennsylvania, beginning 1928; pastor, Greencastle, Penn- sylvania, beginning 1931 (during his pastorate the church more than doubled in membership); pastor, Shamokin, Pennsylvania, beginning 1934; pastor, Reading, Pennsylvania, beginning 1938. In 1940 he moved to Short Gap, West Virginia, again and entered evangelistic work. During the war emergency, however, he has canceled evangelistic meetings and serves his home congrega- tion as minister and elder, but looks forward to more active evangelistic work in the future.


Whitacre, Joseph


Bro. Joseph, son of Alphaeus and Lacy Abe Whitacre, was born near Short Gap, West Virginia, and is one of the family of three sons who entered the ministry. His service has been mostly outside the district: in Philadelphia, and other places in Pennsylvania; in Indiana; at present in Pennsylvania again. His wife is Bertha Fike, daughter of Elder Emra Fike.


Whitacre, Walter


Bro. Whitacre was elected to the ministry in the Knobley congregation August 19, 1916, and has lived and served in that congregation.


Wolfe, Calvin


To John E. and Lydia Wolfe, near Clifton Mills, West Vir- ginia, Calvin R. was born November 18, 1881. He was educated in the schools of West Virginia and Pennsylvania and taught in the schools of those states for thirty-five years. He was married to Cora Wilson and to them three children, Noah, Ruth, and Clar-


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ence, were born. On April 5, 1905, he was elected to the ministry in the Sandy Creek congregation, the congregation founded by his grandfather, Jacob M. Thomas. Bro. Wolfe served in this congregation for fifteen years and in the Markleysburg congre- gation for fifteen years as pastor and elder. At present he lives at Gibbon Glade, Pennsylvania, where he preaches and teaches.


Wolfe, Marshall R.


Marshall Wolfe was born October 28, 1884, about two miles west of Red House, Maryland, to Marcellus A. and Naomi Fike Wolfe. He was baptized by Elder Jeremiah Miller in October 1896, elected to the first degree of the ministry in December 1910, forwarded to the second degree in December 1911, and ordained to the eldership in 1922. On September 3, 1918, he was married to Jennie N. Weybright. He is a graduate of Blue Ridge College and Bethany Biblical Seminary, and has done graduate work in West Virginia University. His preaching began in the Eglon congregation, his home church. He has served as assistant pastor at the Hastings Street mission in Chi- cago, Illinois, and the Wiles Hill church in Morgantown, West Virginia. But he is best known for his service in teaching in the church, Bible institutes, teachers' training schools, and summer camps, for his having taught Bible and history in Blue Ridge College, and above all for his heading the Bible department in Bridgewater College, where his classes are an inspiration and guidance to many of our college youth.


Ziegler, Edward K.


Edward Ziegler was born at Royersford, Pennsylvania, Janu- ary 3, 1903. His education was secured in the public schools of Pennsylvania, Elizabethtown College (1919-1923), Bridge- water College (1926-29), Bethany Biblical Seminary, and Get- tysburg Seminary. He was married on May 31, 1924, to Ilda M. Bittinger of Eglon, West Virginia. He was ordained to the min- istry at Shamokin, Pennsylvania, on November 26, 1921, and to the eldership at Johnson City, Tennessee, on September 30, 1930. His pastoral service has been as follows: Seneca congregation, West Virginia (1924-26); Johnson City, Tennessee (1929-31); York, Pennsylvania, 1940 -. From 1931 to 1938 he was a mis- sionary to India. Other services to the church have been: mem- ber of Standing Committee, 1940; representative of the Church


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of the Brethren on Federal Council of Churches (1941-); execu- tive committee of Federal Council (1943-); Federal Council Com- mission on Worship (1941-); Southern Pennsylvania ministerial board and board of Christian education (1941-). He is the author of A Book of Worship for Village Churches, Country Altars, Worship in the Christian Family, and Rural People at Worship. He is making a good contribution to the church through his interest in worship and in rural life.


BIBLIOGRAPHY


All Leatherman Kin History, Rev. J. John Leatherman, 1940.


Centennial Address, J. M. Henry, 1936.


Chronicon Ephratense.


Cultural Changes in the Church of the Brethren, F. D. Dove, 1932.


Deed Book, Hampshire County.


District Minutes.


Educational Blue Book, Cable and Sanger, 1923.


Educational History, S. Z. Sharp, 1923.


Files of Elder G. S. Arnold.


Gospel Messengers.


Harman-Harmon Generations and Biography, J. W. Harmon, 1928.


History of the Brethren, M. G. Brumbaugh.


History of the Brethren in Virginia, D. H. Zigler, 1908.


History of Eglon Community, C. I. Heckert.


History of the Church of the Brethren of Western Pennsylvania, J. E. Blough, 1916.


History of the Civil War in the United States, S. M. Smucker, 1865.


History of Preston County, Morton, 1880.


History of Preston County, S. T. Wiley, 1882.


History of Sandy Creek Congregation, Jeremiah Thomas.


History of Sandy Creek Congregation, Susie Thomas, 1939.


History of Randolph County, Bosworth, 1916.


Idleman Family Records, Ollie Idleman.


Life of John Kline, Benjamin Funk, 1900.


Literary Activity of the Brethren, J. S. Flory, 1908.


Missionary Visitor, August 1908.


Minutes of Annual Conference.


Minutes of Local Churches.


Notes of E. T. Fike.


Olive Branch of Peace, Sanger and Hays, 1907.


Personal Interviews. Personal Letters.


Semi-Centennial History of West Virginia, J. M. Callahan, 1913. Survey Book of Augusta County, Virginia.


The Hardwear Bulletin, 1908, Oakland, Maryland.


MAULER, BENJAMIN, aged


85, 0 Brownfield, died in the Uniontown Hospital Monday, August 4, 1947, at 12:30 p. m. Mr. Mauler was a lifelong resident of Fayette County, was Frick pensioner since 1926, and was a member of the Methodist church of Brownfield. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Emerson Mauler, in 1938 and two daughters, Alice McIntyre Patterson in 1939 and Sussan Mauler Thompson in 1922. Surviving are three daughters, Mrs. Mollie Girard, of East National Pike: Mrs. Eleanor Porter, of Scottdale: Mrs. Jessie Kelly, of Union- town; three step-children, Mrs. Rowene Dennis, of Pt. Marion; Morgan Scott, of Hopwood; Thomas Scott, of Pitts- burgh; eight grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren. Friends will be re- ceived in the DeCarlo Funeral Home 136 N. Gallatin Ave., after 5 o'clock this evening. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.


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a living, they would not to their responsibilities, ld be unable to appreciate


.work because they are f going hungry or lacking Fear prompts them to live heir social responsibilities, what their relatives and may say of them. Worry, troubled conscience, makes r God.


plays as great a part in ife on earth livable as does It can never be abolished e than can faith.


is why the atomic bomb he greatst blessing man h.


FIRST DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA . EMAIL JET




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