Quarterly Journal

The quarterly periodical of the Fellowship is named Brethren ROOTS. This 32 page journal contains articles pertaining to the history of Brethren families, congregations, movements and migrations. and records relevant to the Brethren. Also included are queries, lists of new members, and other related business of the Fellowship.

Previously, it was called the Newsletter of the Fellowship of Brethren Genealogists. Beginning with the Spring 1998 issue the publication has been renamed Brethren Roots.

There is an index of the Table of Contents for the 126 issues of the Newsletter, published between 1969 and 1997. This sixteen page Special Issue 1998 may be obtained by from Ron McAdams for $3.00, the same price as for all copies of back issues of the periodical. An annual index is included in the subscription price. As noted, single issues are regularly $3.00, but double issues (such as the Summer 2005 issue) will be $6.00 for back issues. All four issues of a volume are included in the price of twelve dollars for an annual membership in the Fellowship of Brethren Genealogists.

SYNOPSIS/SUMMARY OF RECENT ISSUES

Spring 1998 (Vol. 30, No. 1)

This first issue of the Fellowship's journal under the Brethren Roots name has the "Eversole Family of Perry County, Ohio" as the cover article. Another article (unquestionably to be a great research aid) on "Brethren Roots & Branches," a South-central PA region periodical on Brethren history and genealogy which was published between 1975 and 1988, is discussed and indexed by our editor, Homer Benton. This five page index of articles will be invaluable for family history researchers with interests in this area. Also, Homer has included another index, namely, the Snow Hill Cemetery Records (a cemetery in Quincy, PA), a three page alphabetical list of the gravestone inscriptions. Then, filling out this thematic issue are companion articles on the published five volume index of obituaries appearing in the Vindicator, the official monthly publication of the Old German Baptist Brethren, and on the compiler of these Obituary Summaries, Rosa L. Brovont. These articles, along with the regular columns of the journal, will make this issue a valuable reference for Brethren genealogists.

A cover article for this issue is submitted by Merle Rummel, who is an active contributor on the Brethren mailing list. His area of expertise is the movement of Brethren families to the KY and Southwestern Ohio area and the establishment of churches in the Miami Valley. In this issue, he discusses the families of the Four Mile Church (the first Brethen congregation in Indiana, org.1809) and in a related article, the Kanawha Trace, which permitted migration from VA to Richmond IN. Homer Benton reproduces the list of 636 ministers found in H.R. Holsinger's Brethren Almanac for 1871. Jerry Miller adds his transcription of the Cherry Lane Church of the Brethren Cemetery in Bedford Co. PA and Donna Arnold contributes photos and a Family Group Sheet for Henry Horning (1798-1872). Also included is the Fellowship's obituary of Lester Binnie, a well respected Brethren genealogist noted for his published volumes on Kosciusko and Wabash County Indiana cemetery records.

Three well-written and researched articles fill this issue. Merle Rummel identifies families in his "Early Brethren Residents in Northumberland County, PA." James M. Freed abstracts and annotates a list of conscientious objectors from the "Draft Enrollment List for 1862 in Howard County, Indiana." And, a chapter on Dunkards in the Cove is reprinted from "History of the Early Settlement of the Juniata Valley" published by U. L. Jones in 1855. Then, the editor, Homer Benton, begins a list of obituaries which appeared in the "Monthly Gospel Visiter" (from January through June 1857). Ronald Hollinger, the President, adds his report on the FOBG annual business meeting held July 3rd in Orlando, FL. And finally, the editor notes the existence of Every Name Indexes completed by Lela Eby for nine Church of the Brethren congregational and district histories.

This issue is full of indexes. In addition to the index theme, the two cover articles are a congregational history of the Meadow Branch church in Maryland and a reprinted 1883 article about the rotation of meetings among 25 families in the Nimishillen Ohio congregation from 1825. "Gospel Visitor Obituaries" are continued (from July through December 1857); the editor has listed six more Church of the Brethren District Histories which were indexed by Lela Eby; and this issue contains an eight-page index for Volume 30.

A variety of material is presented in this issue. An interesting article on the "Wenger/Gibbel House of Worship" has numerous photos. Letha (Snider) Bolender transcribes the "Virginia Brethren Marriages By Samuel L. Boone" from his Marriage Journal (1886- 1894). A chart of "Ministers Who Served German Settlement Congregation of West VA" is printed and "Ministers Elected in Shade Creek Congregation" is listed. A brief history of the "Brownsville Church MD" written by Emanuel Slifer for the Brethren's Almanac for Year 1879 is included. Four and a half pages of "Brethren At Work Obituaries" from September 1876 to December 1877 are provided and Gospel Visitor Obituaries" (1856) is continued in this issue. In addition to many other items, the editor reports on the distribution of the annual Membership Directory and announces details of the annual meeting of the FOBG in Milwaukee WI this summer.

Homer Benton publishes a letter to the editor describing the history of Jacob A. Stover's journal (written in shorthand). Galen Stover Beery, a great-grandson, provides excerpts from January and February of 1859 along with family photographs. He also writes a report on the Stover Spring House in Greencastle Pennsylvania and plans to reconstruct it. Also, in this issue, an article by Merle C. Rummel tries to identify Elder Jacob Miller of Franklin County Virginia and Montgomery County Ohio by reviewing the data and the problems with some of the information. Photos of an 1894 Brethren emigrant train from Indiana to North Dakota and of a North Dakota homestead add to the appeal of this issue.

Two articles begin on the cover: an 1868 list of over 1400 subscribers to the Christian Family Companion, an early Brethren publication, is begun; and the minutes of the 1898 meeting of the "Church of the Brethren of the District of North Dakota, Eastern Montana and Western Canada" includes many Brethren names. A companion article on "Brethren Families Settle in Western Montana & Canada" is accompanied by two photos. Also, obituaries that appeared in the Gospel Visitor between 1851 and 1855 are listed. Then, in addition to the editor's regular columns, President Ronald Hollinger reports on the 1999 annual meeting. As usual, these articles and columns are informative and include references for further research.

Merle Rummel submits the text of his fine presentation to the FOBG Manchester Workshop on the "Westward Migration Routes of Brethren." The 1868 Christian Family Companion subscription list is concluded in this issue. And along with the regular queries, books of interest, new members, and editor's columns, the index for the year is included.

Photographs of the Lancaster County PA Masterson family, the Gettysburg OH Witwer and Martzall families add to the attractiveness of this issue. A list of marriages performed between 1866 and 1890 by Elder Henry Dickenson around Pendleton Co WV, a transcription of the Old German Cemetery in Montgomery County OH, and a list of obituaries published in the periodical Brethren At Work from 1878 are included. Richard Weber contributed a copy of an article on "Pennsylvania's Dunkers" published in the New York Sun and American Socialist (NY) in 1879.

The Shade Creek Congregation of Somerset County PA and Aughwick Congregation in Huntingdon County PA were subjects of articles in this issue. The Eshelman VanSyckel, William Wilson, and Heinrich Eshelman families are recorded.

The Winter issue contains the index for the year, along with an exceptional article on the Buffalo Valley Church of the Brethren and some of its early members

Articles on Benjamin Sailor Overholser and John Melvin Markley, a transcription of the Red Mill Dunkard Cemetery in Cambria County PA, and a report by the FOBG President Ronald Hollinger proposing a new constiturion or by-laws comprise this issue.

This summer issue is dedicated to the St Vrain Church in Hygiene CO and includes the cover article on the early families, a membership list, and the Hygiene Cemetery listing. Benjamin Sailor Overholser's 1893 diary is continued in this issue. Regular columns complete the issue.

Miriam Shubert Higgins wrote the cover story about Enoch Eby (1828-1910). The By-Laws of the Fellowship of Brethren Genealogists is reprinted and the Hygiene Cemetery reading is continued. Obituaries and marriages printed in the "Pilgrim" in 1870 are copied here. The Brethren Heritage Center for the Miami Valley of Ohio is announced. It will house information on Brethren history, genealogy, and church records.

A lengthy account of the Claar congregation in Bedford County PA is reprinted from a 1908 pamphlet by the pastor, David M. Adams. An interesting story is included about William Dearduff, who died in the Alamo and whose ancestors were Brethren. The Hygiene Cemetery listing is concluded and the index for the year completes the volume.

The Claar congregation history is continued with biographical sketches of many of the elders and prominent members. A well researched article on the Studebaker family shares the cover. A reprinted article from the 1878 Brethren's Almanac on the Solomon's Creek Church in Elkhart IN and the regular columns fill out this issue.

An exceptional article leads this issue on the subject on the Brethren migration into North Dakota. Associated material includes lists of churches and surnames. The reprint of the Claar booklet is concluded in this third part of the series. Interspersed in this issue are a couple of lists of esoteric value: a list of the annual meetings of the FOBG and a historical list of FOBG officers.

This combined issue marks a transition from the death of the editor, Homer Benton, before completion of the summer issue to the new editor in Wayne Webb. Two exception articles comprise this issue. The cover article, "Henry Moyer of Montgomery County, Ohio and his Brethren Descendants," offers well documented insights on this family. The other article, "Sorting out the Brethren Frantz Lines" by Dwayne Wrightsman, is a competent analysis of what is known about four Frantz immigrant ancestors. Both articles are superlative in their use of footnotes.

This issue is devoted to "The Hay Family of Pennsylvania and Ohio" by Wayne Webb. Maps, photographs, and footnotes complement this extraordinary discussion on the Hay families.

A cover article entitled "Books of Olde" gives background information on an appended article reprinting sections of the 1920 district history of Southern Ohio. A fascinating account of the 1729 Mortonhouse ship list compares different passenger lists and relates them to the passengers on the ship Allen with Alexander Mack. A short sketch of Daniel Gripe (1772 PA to 1859 Goshen IN) of the Gripe/Cripe family includes a list of marriages performed by him. The 1806 Bedford County PA tax list is reproduced and copies of local newspaper obituaries related to the funerals officiated by William D. Fisher, serving a Church of the Brethren congregation in Lancaster PA between 1925 and 1932.

A well-written cover story on J.G. Francis is submitted by David J. Bachman titled "Jacob Gottwals Francis 1870-1958 A man in the wrong place before his time?" An article on the "Iowa River Church of the Brethren" is reprinted from History of the Northern Plains Church of the Brethren 1844 - 1977 and an accompaning "Notes on the Ancestors of Mrs. Lois V. Haile. Otherwise, continued articles comprise this issue: "Bedford County, Pennsylvania 1806 Tax Lists," "Funeral Services Officiated by Elder William D Fisher," and a transcription of chapter two of the Southern Ohio District History. The reproduction of the "Diary of Jesse Dungan Nicholson" is begun in this issue.

Jim Neher contributes "A Brief History of the Neher Family" and Lois V. Haile's submission of the "Diary of Jesse Dungan Nicholson" is finished in this issue. Dwayne Wrightsman begins an article on the John Nicholas Garst family in "The Brethren of Little Swatara Creek." Other continuing articles include "Funeral Services Officiated by Elder William D. Fisher" and the "Bedford County, Pennsylvania 1806 Tax Lists."

Wayne Webb, the journal editor, reprinted pages of the January 1, 1895 issue of the "Gospel Messenger" and continues reproducing the Southern Ohio District History from the last issue. He also includes a copy of the "Bedford County, Pennsylvania 1806 Tax Lists." A biographical sketch is contributed by Jim DeFigh in "Ancestry of Barbara Barry, Wife of Christian Schlechty, of Darke County, Ohio." Dwayne Wrightsman contributes a well documented article on the Garst families in "The Brethren of Little Swatara Creek." Finally, and for many long-time members of the Fellowship, the most important note of this issue is an obituary notice for Gwen Bobb. Gwendolyn F. Bobb had been employed at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin Illinois for two decades. After her retirement, she continued to maintain a desk in the Brethren Historical Library and Archives and kept the Fellowship of Brethren Genealogists going as the long-term Executive Director of this organization.

This double issue of forty pages has as its theme the history, faith, and religion of the Southwest Ohio Brethren churches. Wayne Webb, Diana Wheaton, Ron McAdams, and Merle Rummel contribute articles on the Lower Miami Church of the Brethren, the Virginia Conference of 1811, and the Frontier Brethren.  Numerous illustrations and photos of individuals and church buildings add to the attractiveness of this issue.

Version 6.8   Revised 27 July 2006

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