WV-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 7 Today's Topics: #1 HIST: Church Develo [Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: HIST: Church Development - 1913 - Methodism Part 2 From the Semi-Centennial History of West Virginia, by James Callahan, 1913. pg. 525-532 Church Devlopment The Editor and Committee, unable to obtain a general treatment of this subject in a single article, decided to assign brief articles to representatives of each denomination. They were able to secure articles for five denominations which have the largest membership in the state. METHODISM IN WEST VIRGINIA By William B. Mathews, Clerk of the Supreme Court of West Virginia. [Part 2] West Virginia Wesleyan. One of the greatest achievements of the West Virginia Conference is the establishment of a successful Christian college. The West Virginia Conference Seminary, Buckhannon, was opened Sept. 3, 1890, with Dr. W. B. Hutchinson as president. Many cities had sought to be the site of the school but Buckhannon was chosen because of its central location, ita high moral tone, its inexpensive living and its beauty and health- fulness. In 1903 its faculty and curricula were enlarged and the institu- tion was chartered as the West Virginia Wesleyan College. Its standard of scholarship has always been high. Although founded and chiefly supported by the Methodists, the college is wholly undenominational. No religious tests are prescribed upon trus- tees, faculty or students, though the school has always been noted tor its high Christian Influence. It has emphasized the belief that education should include character forming as well as scholarship. Commencing with a barren field in 1890, the college now has a well- wooded and beautiful campus ot 43 acres, on which are seven buildings: (1) College Hall, (2) Woman's Hall, (3) Music Hall, (4) Gymnasium, (5) Haymond Science Hall, (6) Heating Plant, and (7) President's Resi- dence. Its assets exceed $400,000. It has a library of 7,000 volumes, well equipped laboratories and other facilities for the best instruction. Courses are given in the College of Liberal Arts, leading to the degrees ot Bachelor ot Arts and Bachelor ot Science. It has a preparatory school, a depart- ment of music, of commerce, of art, of oratory and a flourishing normal school. In February, 1905, a fire destroyed the main building; but College Hall, larger and better was immediately errected to take ita place. The school has always been well attended by students from West Virginia and other states; but during the past five years the enrollment has shown a steady and continuous increase—as the figures indicate: 1909, 373; 1910, 423; 1911, 476; 1912, 507; 1913, 628. The students of strictly college rank have quadrupled in the last four years. The faculty consists of twenty-eight persons, with President Carl Gregg Doney, at the head. They are graduates of good universities or colleges, and technical schools. The thirty-six trustees are representative men and women of the state. Though young, the alumni include two state officials, twenty school principals and superintendents, over one hundred men teachers, eighty ministers, thirty lawyers and leading men and women in all the honorable walks of life. The college has been of inestimable value to West Virginia and its growing strength is promise of still greater service. Methodist Protestant Church.* *Acknowledgment is made to Hon. A. D. Williams for statements relative to the Methodist Protestant Church, of which he is a prominent member. The history of Methodism is one until 1828, when what is now known as the Methodist Protestant Church was organized. The reasons for the division were the refusal of the election of presiding elders, refusal of the right of appeal and representation for local ministers and laymen, by vote of Bishops McKendree and Soule in 1820. The publication of a paper known as Mutual Rights, edited by Rev. Asa Shinn, lent color to the situation surrounding the general movement for lay representation at this time in Methodism. The first Methodist minister to be expelled for advocating the reading of this journal was D. B. Dorsey, who spent a part of his life at Wheeling, West Virginia, and his declining years at Fairmont. Among the active and conspicuous figures in the early history of the formation of West Virginia was Francis H. Pierpont, the provisional governor, who was an active lay member of the Methodist Protestant Church, and represented it as a delegate from the Pittsburgh Conference in the general conference of 1846, 1858 and 1871, at which conference he was elected President being the first and only layman ever to serve as President of a general conference of Methodists. In 1875 he was commissioned as one of the nine members on church union, to meet with the southern division of the Methodist Protestant Church, and in 1877 was a member ot the con- ference that united the two divisions. The first Methodist Protestant church organized in the State of West Virginia was at Hackers Creek, in Lewis County, October, 1829, by Rev. John Mitchell and David Smith, and is known as Old Harmony Church. The building was erected in October, 1819, and is still preserved. Rev. H. K. Bonner was elected class leader. The next society was organized at the forks of Hackers Creek. Rev. John Smith was elected leader. In 1830 a class was organized at Morgantown by Rev. Cornelius Spring- er, a veteran of the war of 1812, and a participant in the division dis- cussions of 1820 to 1830. This class produced three prominent minis- ters, Joseph A. Shackleford, Asby Pool and John Clark. The same year Springer and Marshall formed a society at the forks of Cheat river. In February of the same year, Rev. George Brown formed societies in Palatine near the home of the late William Barnes. Societies were also formed at Pruntytown and Rockford. Rev. George Nestor in the same year made organizations at Harrisville, Morristown and on Teter Creek in Barbour County. There were also organizations formed in the Greenbrier Valley, and at Flatwoods in Braxton County. The West Virginia conference was set off from the Pittsburgh Con- ference with 3,000 members and P. T. Laishley appointed President, and organized October 2, 1885, at Pruntytown. Rev. P. T. Laishley was a representative from Monongalla county, and also chaplain, in the first convention at Wheeling, in May, 1861. He and other Methodist Protestants were active in the formation of the State. The church has at present in the state 78 ministers and 70 charges. besides those included in the Pittsburgh and Baltimore conference; a membership of 17,092, church property valued at $455,091; 264 Sunday Schools, with 18,000 endrollment. The present officers of the conference are President, Rev. J. N. Holt, Colfax, W. Va.; Secretaries, J. H. Moss- burg, Flemington, W. Va., W. H. Hodges, Morgantown, W. Va. Methodist Episcopal Church South. The Methodist Episcopal Church South was organized pursuant to the plan of separation adopted by the General Conference of 1844, at a convention of duly elected delegates from the southern conferences, which met at Louisville, Ky., in May, 1845. With great unanimity this convention declared a separation was necessary in order to save to Methodism its members in the South. A general conference was appoint- ed to meet in May, 1846, and every tour years thereafter, so that the gen- eral conference of the two Episcopal Methodisms alternate, convening two years apart. The Western Virginia Conference of the Church South was organized at Maiden in 1850. At the time of its organization it had 24 charges with an aggregate membership of 5,293. After the separation the south- ern churches in western Virginian territory had been placed under the care of the Kentucky conference, and constituted the Parkersburg, Green- brier and Guyandotte districts thereof. In 1860 there were five districts, 60 effective preachers, 93 local preachers, 12,694 members and 126 church- es and 9 parsonages, valued at $114,100. No sessions of this conference were held on account of the war from 1860 until 1866. The members of this body stood staunchly tor their political principles and like true Methodists endured hardships and the dangers incident to a sanguinary struggle with fortitude and self-sacri- fice. Only about one-third of the former members of the conference answer to the "sad roll call" at Greenup, Ky., Feb. 22, 1866. Bishop Kavanaugh, who preached in the Great Kanawha Valley when a young man, presided. From that time, the growth of this branch of Methodism has been rapid. Great good has been accomplished by it among the West Virginia hills, although its beneficent jurisdiction extends also into Ken- tucky. In 1912 there were reported 114 preachers, 27,612 members and church property valued at $1,208,940. A number of the pastoral charges of the Baltimore Conference, South, are located in this State. Morris Harvey College. Previous to the war, Marshall College was under control of this Con- ference, but the institution was not re-opened after its close, and the property was disposed of to the State tor use as a Normal School. However, when the county seat of Cabell County was removed from Bar- boursvllle to Huntington, the county buildings at the former place were se- cured, mainly through the efforts of Dr. T. S. Wade, of honored memory, and thus was established Barboursvllle Academy, now Morris Harvey College. This institution was incorporated as the Barboursville Seminary May 16, 1888. One year later it was accepted by the Western Virginia Annual Conference, M. E. Church, South, and operated as the Barboursville College. By this name it was known until May 27, 1901, when, in con- sideration of the beneficence of Mr. Morris Harvey, in the gift of several thousand dollars to the school, the Board of Trustees thereof changed the name to Morris Harvey College. The buildings consist of an Administration Building, Rosa Harvey Hall for girls, a Music Hall and Billingsley Hall for boys. Its present faculty consists of eight members, headed by President R. H. Alderman, and it has a student body of nearly two hundred. Comparative Statistics. A U. S. census bulletin gives the following figures relative to church membership in West Virginia for the year 1906, and it is probable that the ratios indicated therein practically remain the same. The totals, however, are below the actual number of members, since some 800 church organizations failed to report. The census gave for 1906 a membership of 115,825 in all Methodist bodies in the state, distributed as follows: DENOMINATIONS. MEMBERS. Methodist Episcopal .......................... 61,641 Methodist Episcopal, South ................... 36,632 Methodist Protestant ......................... 16,004 African Methodist Episcopal .................. 1,002 Wesleyan Methodist ........................... 238 Free Methodist ............................... 150 African Methodist Episcopal, Zion ............ 86 Colored Methodist Episcopal .................. 72 TOTAL ........................................ 115,825 The same bulletin gives a further table, showing that the Methodist bodies had, in that year, over 38 per centum of the entire church mem- bership reported in the state. This table contains the following stat- istical presentation: BODIES. MEMBERS. PER CENT. Methodist Bodies ................... 115,825 38.5 Baptist Bodies ...................... 67,044 22.2 United Brethren Bodies .............. 19,993 6.6 Presbyterian Bodies ................. 19,668 6.5 Disciples or Christians ............. 13 323 4.4 Lutheran Bodies .................... 6,506 2.2 Protestant Episcopal Church ........ 5,230 1.7 Reformed Bodies ..................... 886 0.3 Congregationalists .................. 228 0.1 Other Protestant Bodies ............. 11,101 3.6 Total Protestant Bodies ............ 259,804 86.1 Roman Catholic Church ............... 40,011 13.3 Latter Day Saints .................... 1,385 0.5 All other bodies .................... 365 0.1 GRAND TOTALS ....................... 301,565 100 Of the above number, there were about three males to every four fe- males. There were 3428 church edifices reported with a seating capacity to accommodate nearly the entire population of the State at one and the same time. The value of church property nearly reached $12,000,000. There were 3486 West Virginia Sunday Schools reported with 27,677 teachers and 212,577 scholars. In all this equipment for promoting religious and civic righteousness in our fair State, Methodism has had an honorable part in the past, is willing to cooperate in bearing the burdens and responsibilities of the present, and looks to the future with enthusiastic faith and hope that our commonwealth as it becomes greater and more prosperous may like- wise become better and more righteous. ______________________________X-Message: #2 Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 18:54:41 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook Subject: BIO: Herbert Madden BRENNEMAN, Hancock Co. *************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 230-231 Hancock County HERBERT MADDEN BRENNEMAN. Hancock County has precedence as one of the most important centers of fruit culture in the State of West Virginia, and apples here raised are known far and wide for their superiority, with the result that they always command the maximum mar- ket prices. The fine fruit farm owned and occupied by Mr. Brenneman is here situated two miles distant from Arroyo, an important shipping point, and is the place on which his birth occurred, the date of his nativity having been April 24, 1877. He is a son of Charles Christian Brenneman, who was born at Kendall, Pennsylvania, in October, 1836, a son of Jacob Brenneman. Christian Bren- neman, his great-grandfather, who became a pioneer set- tler in what is now Hancock County, served as a soldier in the command of Gen. Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812, and incidentally walked home from New Orleans, where he had been stationed with his command. He mar- ried a daughter of Jacob Nessly, who was one of the very early settlers of the present Hancock County and of whom mention is made in other reviews in this history. Jacob Nessly owned a very large tract of land along the Ohio River, and it was on a portion of this land that Christian Brenneman settled after his marriage, his old homestead being the place now owned by George G. Brenneman, who is individually represented on other pages of this work. Christian Brenneman finally sold 209 acres of his land, and his grandson, Charles C., repurchased the property shortly after the close of the Civil war, the remainder of his life having been here passed and his death having occurred on the 1st of June, 1901. He married Mary Frances Brown, daughter of Charles Brown, who was a son of Sir Richard Brown, the latter having come from Scotland and settled in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Charles Brown came to West Virginia when his daughter, Mary F., was eight years old, and purchased a part of the Jacob Nessly farm, ad- joining the home place of Austin H. Brown. There Charles Brown remained until his death, at the patriarchal age of ninety-six years. His sons, Robert and William, became owners of the old farm and at the death of Robert Brown the property passed into the possession of Charles Brenne- man, a son of John, another brother of George and Charles C. The present house on this fine old homestead was erected in 1823, heavy hewed timbers being utilized in its construction, and hand work of the old-time enduring order being in evidence throughout the structure. The house was remodeled and modernized in 1915 by its present owner, Herbert M. Brenneman, subject of this sketch. In con- nection with the raising of cattle and sheep Charles C. Brenneman here early began the development of an apple orchard, and in the same there is still remaining one tree that was planted in 1813 and that is still bearing fruit of excellent quality. This venerable tree is one of the original "Willow Twig" apple trees of a section now renowned for the production of this fine type of apples. Charles C. Brenneman planted an orchard of 5,000 trees, and from his orchard he received in 1896 a yield of 6,000 barrels. It was a matter of great pride to him that he lived to see the development of his orchard into one of the most productive in this section. The present owner maintains the integrity of the orchard by a careful system of resetting or replacement, no vacancy being permitted to appear in the lines of trees, and he having precedence as the most extensive commercial fruit grower in his native state. He has held to the celebrated "Willow Twig" variety as the best type of apples to be raised under the excellent conditions here in evidence, and no better or more enduring type is to be found anywhere in the world. The Brenneman orchards give an average yield of 2,500 barrels, and the place has storage facilities for the accom- modation of 6,000 barrels. Mr. Brenneman buys from other fruit growers of the locality sufficient quantities of apples to reach the limit of his storage capacity. He for- merly exported apples to Germany, Scotland and England, but the product of his orchards is sold throughout the United States almost exclusively since the close of the World war. His fine farm comprises 209 acres—the origi- nal tract owned by his father. The store house on this model fruit farm is a stone structure, one of the finest houses for the storing of fruit in the United States, and preserves an even temperature. Mr. Brenneman has made other improvements of the best modern order, and has rea- son for taking pride in his splendid hillside farm, which produces apples of finer flavor and color than do those grown in the river bottom lands of this locality. Mr. Brenneman was formerly retained as buyer for lead- ing wholesale fruit dealers in Pittsburgh and New York City, and in this connection he visited the fruit-growing districts in all sections of the United States, with the re- sult that he has become a recognized authority in this field of industrial enterprise. He is a citizen of vital progressiveness and liberality, has been influential in the promotion of the good-roads movement, and raised through private sources funds to improve a road in his native county and district. He was reared in the faith of the Methodist Church and his wife is a member of the Presby- terian Church. In 1902 Mr. Brenneman married Miss Anna Elizabeth Unkel, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and her death oc- curred ten years later, the one child of this union being Gladys Elizabeth, who is a member of the class of 1923 in the high school at Newell. In June, 1915, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Brenneman and Miss Amy Viola Cope, of Wellsville, Ohio, where she was born and reared and where her father, the late Samuel S. Cope, was engaged in the hardware business fully fifty years. Mrs. Celestia Ann (Snowden) Cope, mother of Mrs. Brenneman, was born at Hookstown, Pennsylvania, and still resides at Wells- ville, Ohio. Mrs. Brenneman was for twenty years actively associated with the business established by her father, and was secretary and treasurer of the Cope Hardware & Supply Company, in which connection she developed exceptional business ability. Her social charm is equally pronounced. and she is the popular chatelaine of one of the beautiful and hospitable rural homes of Hancock County. In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the brothers and sisters of Herbert M. Brenneman: Alice B. is the wife of E. W. Hewitt, of Arroyo, Hancock County. Charles Howard, who died in 1916, at the age of fifty- three years, was at the time proprietor of the Brenne- man Baking Company in the City of Columbus, Ohio. Jacob Edward was but a lad when he went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he made remarkable advancement and eventually became the executive head of the Brenneman Wharf & Bridge Company, which has done a large amount of important work, including the erection of the wharves of the navy yards at League Island. He is still presi- dent of this corporation. Clarence likewise left the parental home when he was a youth, and he is now secretary of the Peerless Biscuit Company in the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Willard was seventeen years of age when he went to Pittsburgh, and there he is now president and general manager of the Peerless Baking Company. Rev. George E. attended Mount Union College at Alliance, Ohio, and is a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal Church, he being at the time of this writing, in 1922, pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church at New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Robert Baird, the next younger son, died in 1918, he having been a principal in and general manager of the Seaman, Irvin & Brenneman Construction Com- pany of Homesdale, Pennsylvania, Herbert M., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth. Frank Lawrence, a traveling salesman for the Peerless Biscuit Company, of Pittsburgh, died in December, 1917. He inherited a life interest in the Robert Brown estate in Hancock County, West Virginia, and was here maintaining his home at the time of his death. Mrs. Eva C. Gardner, the youngest of the children, resides at Columbus, Ohio. Each of the sons made a record of substantial and worthy achievement, and all have honored their native county and state. ***************