History of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ by Daniel Berger, Part 1, Chapter 15

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History of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ

by Daniel Berger

Fifth Period—1837-1885

CHAPTER XV

THE GENERAL CONFERENCES OF 1837 AND 1841

I. THE SEVENTH GENERAL CONFERENCE—1837.

^p.260 The years 1837 and 1841 mark a pivotal period in the history of the United Brethren Church. The General Conference of 1837 convened on May 9, at Germantown, Montgomery County, Ohio. Bishops Kumler and Hiestand presided, Bishop Brown not being present. Bishop Hiestand preached the opening sermon, which was spoken of at the time as peculiarly appropriate, and was remembered the more from the fact that in the year following he closed his earthly labors. Eight annual conferences were represented, as follows:

Pennsylvania—Jacob Erb, Jacob Winter.

Virginia—Jacob Rhinehart, J. J. Glossbrenner.

Muskingum—Adam Hetzler, David Weimer.

Sandusky—John Dorcas, George Hiskey.

Scioto—John Coons, William Hanby.

Miami—J. Fetterhoff, William Stubbs.

Indiana—F. Whitcom, John Lopp.

Wabash—F. Kenoyer, William Davis.

Among the measures adopted by the General Conference of 1837 was a "constitution for the better government of the Printing Establishment," the basis of the constitution of the House still found in the Discipline. John Russel, George Dresbach, and Jonathan Dresbach were reelected trustees for the establishment; William R. Rhinehart was ^p.261 elected editor of the Religious Telescope, and William Hanby publishing agent.

Henry Kumler, Sen., and Samuel Hiestand were reelected bishops, and Jacob Erb was elected to succeed Bishop Brown, the latter having served four years.

Adoption of a Constitution.

The chief interest of the conference centered in the question of the adoption of a constitution for the Church. The draft of such an instrument had been prepared by William R. Rhinehart, and was by him submitted for consideration. On a motion made by Mr. Hanby it was

Resolved, That a constitution for the better regulation of the Church be adopted.

The way being thus prepared, Mr. Rhinehart's paper was taken up, considered item by item, and then unanimously adopted. The Constitution embraced throughout such principles as had been before recognized in the government of the Church. The purpose in embodying these in a constitution was to give them the character of fundamental law, and to make any modification difficult, The provision, however, which was intended to so protect its several features against change was not a strong one, only a two-thirds vote of any General Conference being required for the passage of an amendment. In the Constitution afterward adopted in 1841, this was so changed as to make it extremely difficult to secure any amendment, a two-thirds majority vote of the entire Church being required for the ratification of an amendment.

The following is the Constitution adopted in 1837 :

We, as members of the United Brethren in Christ, in order to retain a perfect union, accomplish the ends of justice and equity, insure ecclesiastical as well as domestic tranquility, provide for the ^p.262 common interest of the Church, promote the general welfare of society, and to secure the blessings of the gospel to ourselves, our posterity, and our fellow-men in general, do ordain and establish the following Constitution, for the Church aforesaid:

ARTICLE I.

Section 1. All ecclesiastical power herein granted, to make or repeal any rule of discipline, shall be vested in a General Conference, which shall consist of ministers chosen and elected by the members, in every conference district throughout the society. Nevertheless, nothing shall be done so as to change the article of faith or in anywise destroy the itinerant plan.

Sec. 2. No minister shall be considered eligible for election until he has stood in the capacity as elder for the term of three years, having maintained a good moral character during that time. Any elder receiving a transfer from one conference to another shall not be considered eligible for election under a term of two years, and not then without a sufficient recommendation from the conference of which he had been a member.

Sec. 3. The number of delegates from each conference district shall not exceed one for every five hundred members. But should it so happen that a conference would be formed in a territory not having five hundred members within its district, that conference shall nevertheless have one delegate to represent its members in General Conference.

Sec. 4. If any vacancies should occur through sickness or otherwise, after the election of delegates, it shall be the duty of the presiding elder or elders immediately to notify the next highest on the list of votes that he is now a member to represent that district in the ensuing General Conference.

Sec. 5. The bishops shall upon all occasions be considered members of the General Conference, to preside as the organs of that body as in annual conferences. Bishops shall be elected every four years, during the sitting of the General Conference, by the members of that body, from among the elders throughout the Church who may have stood in the capacity for a term not less than six years.

Sec. 6. The General Conference shall be held once every four years; at the adjournment of which it shall be the duty of the same to publish or cause to be published (excepting such parts as may not be considered expedient) all their proceedings, for the benefit of society in general.

ARTICLE II.

Section 1. The members in each conference district shall solely ^p.263 have the privilege of choosing and electing the delegates for General Conference, which shall invariably be done at least three months previous to the sitting of the same.

Sec. 2. In the election of delegates for General Conference, it shall be the duty of each annual conference to appoint a committee of three, in their several conference districts, to receive and count the votes, and immediately apprise those who may have been elected.

Sec. 3. It shall also be the duty of the annual conference to furnish the presiding elders with a list of all the elders eligible for election. The presiding elders shall furnish each circuit preacher in charge, whose duty it shall be to furnish each class-leader or steward throughout the circuit with a copy of the same.

Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of each class-leader or steward to appoint a meeting of the members of each class, for the purpose of electing, by ballot or otherwise, one or more delegates to represent them in General Conference.

Sec. 5. It shall also be the duty of each class-leader or steward to sign, enclose, and seal each bill of election, hand it over to the preacher in charge; he again to the presiding elder, whose duty it shall be to transmit the same to the committee appointed by the annual conference.

Sec. 6. The committee appointed to receive and count the votes shall make a list of all the persons voted for and the number of votes for each. Should any two or more of the candidates have an equal number of votes, the individuals thus appointed shall determine by lot who or which of them are elected. They shall also forward the names of those elected to the conference printing establishment for publication.

ARTICLE III.

Section 1. Each annual conference shall come fully under the jurisdiction of the General Conference, except under such regulations as the General Conference may deem expedient in relation to local matters, so as not to prove prejudicial to the interest of the whole society.

Sec. 2. The business of each annual conference shall strictly be done according to Discipline.

Sec. 3. Any annual conference acting in violation of the doings of General Conference shall, by impeachment, be tried by the same.

Sec. 4. No annual conference shall have the exclusive right to form or admit any new conference within the bounds of society, without the consent of the General Conference.

Sec. 5. All officers, whether bishops, presiding elders, etc., shall, ^p.264 on impeachment, be dealt with according to Discipline, as other members, expelled or retained, as the case may require.

ARTICLE IV.

Section 1. If at any time after the passing of this Constitution it should be contemplated either to alter or amend the same, it shall be the privilege of any member in society to publish or cause to be published such contemplation at least three months before the election of delegates to the General Conference.

Sec. 2. No General Conference shall have the power to alter or amend the foregoing Constitution, except it be by a vote of two-thirds of that body.

RESOLUTIONS.

Inasmuch as it is the indefeasible right of every man to think and act for himself in matters of faith and morality, this right not only being granted by the charter of his creation, but also by the Discipline adopted for the better government of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ; be it resolved, therefore,

1. That no rule be adopted by General Conference so as to infringe upon the rights of any, as it relates to the mode and manner of baptism, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, or the washing of feet, etc.

2. Resolved, No rule or ordinance shall be passed in General Conference so as to deprive the local preachers of the eligibility of election as delegates to the same; nor yet to deprive them of their legal vote in the annual conferences to which they severally belong.

3. Resolved, That the foregoing resolutions shall neither be altered or appealed without the unanimous consent of the whole conference.

Done in General Conference by the unanimous consent of that body, this 11th day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven. In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our names.

	Henry Kumler,}	George Hiskey.
	Samuel Hiestand,} Bishops	John Coons.
	Jacob Erb.	William Hanby.
	Jacob Winter.	John Fetterhoff.
	Jacob Rhinehart.	William Stubbs.
	Jacob J. Glossbrenner.	Francis Whitcom.
	Adam Hetzler.	John Lopp.
	David Weimer.	Frederick Kenoyer.
	John Dorcas.	William Davis.

^p.265 The General Conference, in adopting this Constitution, had some doubts as to its power to limit the prerogatives of future General Conferences, as is done in Article IV., Section 2. It was therefore deemed wise to address a circular letter to the Church at large, giving notice that a memorial would be presented to the next General Conference praying for the ratification of this Constitution, or particularly of the restriction contained in the article and section referred to. The letter is as follows:

To the Members of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ throughout these United States:

Dear brethren, by whose authority we, as a General Conference, have been authorized to legislate on matters pertaining to the government of our Church, and having long since been convinced of the great necessity of a constitution for the better regulation thereof, have, by unanimous consent, framed and established the foregoing. We are well aware that we have transcended the bounds given us by our Discipline, which [transcending of bounds] will be found in the Constitution, Article IV., Section 2, declaring that the said Constitution can neither be altered or amended without a majority of two-thirds of a General Conference. If there had been a general notice given to the Church previous to the election of delegates, that there would be a memorial offered to General Conference, praying them to adopt a constitution, and to ratify it agreeably to Article IV., Section 2, then the General Conference would have had full power to have done so. The object of this circular is (feeling that the government of our Church is not as firm as it ought to be) to give notice to our Church throughout the Union that we intend to present a memorial to the next General Conference, praying them to ratify the Constitution now adopted, according to [making it binding under] Article IV., Section 2, in testimony of our ardent desire for the welfare of our Church, and the general spread of the gospel.

Written by order of General Conference, Germantown, Ohio, May 12, 1837.

Signed in behalf of the same by

William R. Rhinehart, Secretary.

The terms of this Constitution did not require its submission to the Church for approval by a popular vote. It was the purpose of this letter, however, to bring it to the ^p.266 consideration of the people, so that in voting for delegates to the next General Conference they might choose their delegates with reference to further contemplated action on the Constitution.

The reader will at once be struck with the somewhat ambiguous or doubtful character of some portions of this circular. The impression upon first reading will generally be that the General Conference entertained doubts as to its power to adopt a constitution. A second reading will lead to the conclusion that the feeling of doubt did not apply to the Constitution as a whole, but to that particular feature which proposed to limit the powers of future General Conferences.

It will be of interest here to reproduce the comment of Ex-Bishop Hanby, editor of the Religious Telescope in 1839. In an editorial in that year, two years before the General Conference of 1841, in reply to a question by Rev. William R. Coursey, Mr. Hanby indicates conclusively what the mind of the General Conference of 1837 was as to its powers. Their action was considered as final, except in regard to the article and section as above. The following is what Mr. Hanby, a member of the General Conference of 1837, said:

"Here we must confess that we do not understand Brother Coursey, unless he is of the opinion that the present Constitution is void and of no effect. If so, we think he is mistaken. It was not, by any means, considered that the Constitution would be null and void for four years, and that therefore a petition should be offered to the next General Conference, praying for the enactment of a certain specification, as set forth in the circular of the Discipline. General Conference did by no means doubt their right to gather up the detached principles of government as contained in the Discipline and throw them ^p.267 together in the form of a constitution, and even make amendments to them, but they did doubt the right of declaring that that Constitution should be neither altered nor amended without a majority of two-thirds of a General Conference, and that was, we think, the only object of the circular, and that is the only specification set forth in the circular. Presuming, then, that the Constitution is equally valid with other parts of the Discipline, we refer Brother Coursey to the second article in the Constitution as exhibiting a satisfactory manner of procedure."

II. THE EIGHTH GENERAL CONFERENCE—1841.

The General Conference of 1841, regarded from the historical standpoint, occupies a place among the most important of the entire series of General Conferences, its special distinction being that of framing and adopting a constitution for the Church which was accepted for a period of nearly a half century. This conference assembled on the 10th of May of that year, at Dresbach's Church, in Pickaway County, Ohio. The conference consisted of twenty-three ministers, including two bishops. The bishops were Henry Kumler, Sen., and Jacob Erb. The delegates and the conferences they represented were as follows:

Pennsylvania—John Russel, Jacob Roop.

Virginia—J. J. Glossbrenner, W. R. Coursey.

Allegheny—J. Ritter, G. Miller.

Muskingum—Alexander Biddle, James McGaw.

Sandusky—Henry G. Spayth, George Hiskey.

Scioto—William Hastings, John Coons, J. Montgomery, E. Vandemark.

Miami—Henry Kumler, Jun., Francis Whitcom.

Indiana—Henry Bonebrake, Joseph A. Ball, J. G. Eckels.

Wabash—Josiah Davis, William Davis.

^p.268 A Second Constitution Adopted.

To what extent the delegates to this General Conference may have regarded themselves as being instructed in respect to the approval of the Constitution as framed in 1837, does not appear. The circular letter which was sent to the Church distinctly contemplated the ratification of this Constitution, under its final article, after due memorials to the General Conference, as appears in the following announcement: "The object of this circular is (feeling that the government of our Church is not as firm as it ought to be) to give notice to our Church throughout the Union that we intend to present a memorial to the next General Conference, praying them to ratify the Constitution now adopted, according to Article IV., Section 2." This provision of the circular seems to have been entirely passed by. The Constitution as framed and unanimously approved by the General Conference of 1837, and, with the accompanying circular, laid before the people, certainly was not ratified, as contemplated. There is no evidence that it was even considered. The General Conference, according to the terms of the Constitution and of the circular, had power to do but one of two things, that is, to ratify or reject. Far from this, the conference passed by both the Constitution and the circular and proceeded de novo to form a constitution.

In general, the essential features of the instrument of 1837 reappear in that of 1841, in rearranged, condensed, and greatly changed form, while some new features are added. The provision against possible hasty amendment is taken from the General Conference and transferred to the people of the entire Church, requiring, as before, a two-thirds majority to sustain any proposed alteration or amendment. A very important feature, that providing for pro rata representation, is entirely eliminated. The ^p.269 provisions against secret societies and slavery are new matter. The instrument, in its general expression, is a decided improvement upon that of 1837. The just criticism against the attitude of this General Conference lies in its assumption of final authority, as against the declaration of the General Conference of 1837. That conference recognized the principle of submission to the people, who should have a voice through the delegates whom they would elect, either for or against ratification. This conference assumed the authority to declare its work final, without submission to the people, and so provided as to make all future amendment difficult. Nevertheless, this Constitution, so framed and adopted, acquired, by the silent acquiescence of the Church, probably all the validity inherent in fundamental law, and as such remained in full force until, in 1885-89, it was amended by the concurrent action of the General Conference and the Church at large.

The following is the text of the Constitution of 1841 as adopted:

We, the members of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, in the name of God, do, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, as well as to produce and secure a uniform mode of action, in faith and practice, also to define the powers and the business of quarterly, annual, and general conferences, as recognized by this Church, ordain the following articles of Constitution:

article i.

Section 1. All ecclesiastical power herein granted, to make or repeal any rule of discipline, is vested in a General Conference, which shall consist of elders, elected by the members in every conference district throughout the society; provided, however, such elders shall have stood in that capacity three years, in the conference district to which they belong.

Sec. 2. General Conference is to be held every four years; the bishops to be considered members and presiding officers.

^p.270 Sec. 3. Each annual conference shall place before the society the names of all the elders eligible to membership in the General Conference.

ARTICLE II.

Section 1. The General Conference shall define the boundaries of the annual conferences.

Sec. 2. The General Conference shall, at every session, elect bishops from among the elders throughout the Church who have stood six years in that capacity.

Sec. 3. The business of each annual conference shall be done strictly according to Discipline; and any annual conference acting contrary thereto shall, by impeachment, be tried by the General Conference.

Sec. 4. No rule or ordinance shall at any time be passed to change or do away the Confession of Faith as it now stands, nor to destroy the itinerant plan.

Sec. 5. There shall no rule be adopted that will infringe upon the rights of any as it relates to the mode of baptism, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, or the washing of feet.

Sec. 6. There shall be no rule made that will deprive local preachers of their votes in the annual conferences to which they severally belong.

Sec. 7. There shall be no connection with secret combinations, nor shall involuntary servitude be tolerated in any way.

Sec. 8. The right of appeal shall be inviolate.

ARTICLE III.

The right, title, interest, and claim of all property, whether consisting in lots of ground, meeting-houses, legacies, bequests, or donations of any kind, obtained by purchase or otherwise, by any person or persons, for the use, benefit, and behoof of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, is hereby fully recognized and held to be the property of the Church aforesaid.

ARTICLE IV.

There shall be no alteration of the foregoing Constitution, unless by request of two-thirds of the whole society.

The voice of the conference in the final adoption of this Constitution is not officially recorded. According to the best authorities, the vote was not unanimous, but the motion to adopt was carried by a large majority.

^p.271 The Confession of Faith.

This General Conference made some slight changes in the Confession of Faith, as other General Conferences had done before. This was in accordance with the principle that the General Conference, as the highest authority then recognized in the Church, possessed final authority on this and all other subjects connected with its system of doctrine or rules of practice. This same conference, however, went a step beyond this and embodied in the Constitution a restrictive clause intended to prohibit all future changes in the Confession of Faith. This prohibition was not strictly observed. Slight amendments of a verbal character were afterward introduced in the Confession of Faith by the General Conference of 1857. For a full view of amendments see the pamphlet by Drs. A. W. Drury and J. P. Landis entitled "The Confession of Faith of the United Brethren in Christ—Its Various Changes."¹

The following is the Confession of Faith as approved by the General Conference of 1841:

In the name of God we declare and confess before all men, that we believe in the only true God, the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost; that these three are one—the Father in the Son, the Son in the Father, and the Holy Ghost equal in essence or being with both; that this triune God created the heavens and the earth, and all that in them is, visible as well as invisible, and furthermore sustains, governs, protects, and supports the same.

We believe in Jesus Christ; that he is very God and man; that he became incarnate by the power of the Holy Ghost in the Virgin Mary, and was born of her; that he is the Saviour and Mediator of the whole human race, if they with full faith in him accept the grace proffered in Jesus; that this Jesus suffered and died on the cross for us, was buried, arose again on the third day, ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God, to intercede for us; and that he shall come again at the last day, to judge the quick and the dead.

We believe in the Holy Ghost; that he is equal in being with the ^p.272 Father and the Son, and that he comforts the faithful, and guides them into all truth.

We believe in a holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

We believe that the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, is the word of God; that it contains the only true way to our salvation; that every true Christian is bound to acknowledge and receive it with the influence of the Spirit of God as the only rule and guide; and that without faith in Jesus Christ, true repentance, forgiveness of sins, and following after Christ, no one can be a true Christian.

We also believe that what is contained in the Holy Scriptures, to wit, the fall in Adam and redemption through Jesus Christ, shall be preached throughout the world.

We believe that the ordinances, viz., baptism and the remembrance of the sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, are to be in use, and practiced by all Christian societies; and that it is incumbent on all the children of God particularly to practice them; but the manner in which ought always to be left to the judgment and understanding of every individual. Also the example of washing feet is left to the judgment of every one, to practice or not; but it is not becoming for any of our preachers or members to traduce any of his brethren whose judgment and understanding in this respect are different from his own, either in public or private. Whosoever shall make himself guilty in this respect shall be considered a traducer of his brethren, and shall be answerable for the same.

Other Business.

In the legislation on temperance an important advance was taken by this conference upon the ordinance of 1833, the manufacture and sale of ardent spirits being prohibited to all the members of the Church. The opening sentence of the section reads, "The distilling and vending of ardent spirits shall hereafter be forbidden throughout our whole society." Druggists and others selling only for medicinal or mechanical purposes were exempted from this prohibition.

This conference elected William Hanby editor of the Religious Telescope, and Jonathan Dresbach, George Dresbach, and William Leist trustees of the Printing ^p.273 Establishmerit. A parent missionary board was also elected, and the conference resolved that a German paper be established at Baltimore, Maryland. The name of the paper was to be Die Geschäftige Martha (Busy Martha). Jacob Erb was elected editor and financial manager. This was the beginning of the present Der Fröhliche Botschafter. Henry Kumler, Sen., and Jacob Erb were reelected bishops, and Henry Kumler, Jun., and John Coons were also chosen to the bishop's office. The conference continued in session ten days, and the meeting is spoken of as having been remarkably harmonious and pleasant. The earlier General Conferences were able to transact their business in brief periods of time. That of 1815, the initial General Conference, sat for five days; those of 1817 and 1825 three days each; and those of 1821 and 1829 each four days.

III. PERSONAL NOTES.

1. Jacob Erb.

Jacob Erb, who succeeded William Brown in the office of bishop, was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on May 25, 1804. His parents on both sides were of Swiss origin, and of Mennonite antecedents. Two brothers of his mother, Christian and Abraham Hershey, were United Brethren ministers. He was converted at the age of sixteen at a meeting in his father's house, a regular preaching place for the United Brethren. At the age of nineteen he became a member of the Hagerstown, or original, Conference, and was sent to work on the Lancaster Circuit, a charge then having thirty appointments, a number which he soon increased to forty. At the age of twenty-one he went as a missionary to western New York and Canada, planting some of the early outposts of the Church. In July, 1830, he baptized in the Susquehanna ^p.274 River, at Harrisburg, Elder John Winebrenner, the founder of the Church of God, or Winebrennarians, as the followers of Mr. Winebrenner were long called. Mr. Erb and Mr. Winebrenner were close friends, and had frequently been associated together in revival meetings.

In 1829 Mr. Erb, then twenty-five years of age, was elected a delegate to the General Conference, and again in 1833 and 1837. The latter conference elected him to the bishop's office. In this relation he served for two terms, and was again elected in 1849 for another term of four years, making his time of service twelve years in all. From 1841 to 1842 he was editor and publisher of Die Geschäftige Martha, published in Baltimore by order of the General Conference. Bishop Erb lived through a long and busy life, dying on April 29, 1883, at almost seventy-nine years of age. Sixty years of his life were given to the ministry of the word, and during all this period he never failed to attend a single session of his conference, except the last, when the feebleness of old age forbade his being present. He did not, however, forget his brethren, but wrote to the conference a letter that was full of the cheer and hopefulness which so strongly characterized his Christian life. "I love to look back," said he, "and see the progress which we as a church have made." Then, referring to some of the special departments of church work, he continued: " I thank God that I have lived to see this day, which presents such grand monuments of substantial growth of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. ... A kind Heavenly Father granted to me the privilege of attending, in consecutive order, sixty annual sessions of the Pennsylvania Conference. Could I be present with you, this would be my sixty-first. My faith in God is strong, my confidence in his word unshaken, and I know ^p.275 by personal experience that there is a power in true religion. The future of a blessed life is to me full of hope and promise. God is my refuge and my strength."²

Bishop Erb was a man of medium height, possessed a fine face, in which the lineaments of his nationality were well preserved, was a man of habitually cheerful spirit, preached by preference in the German language, and was often emotional, tender, and impressive. Between the duties of a circuit preacher, presiding elder, stationed pastor, and bishop, he passed a busy and useful life, and was laid to rest in an honored grave. Bishop Dickson officiated at the funeral service. His remains, sleep in a cemetery near Shiremanstown, Pennsylvania.

2. Henry Kumler, Jun.

Henry Kumler, Jun., son of the elder Bishop Henry Kumler, was elected by the General Conference of 1841 to the office of bishop. By his election there was presented the unusual spectacle of a father and son occupying this high office at the same time. He was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on January 9, 1801, and was now just forty years of age, and in the prime of his physical and intellectual vigor. The elder bishop, we have already seen, was of Reformed antecedents; the mother was of the Mennonite Church. The conversion of the father, about the year 1812, led to the entire family's becoming members of the United Brethren Church. Young Henry's conversion occurred when he was about eleven years of age. At fourteen he became leader of a class some three and a half miles from his home. At nineteen he was licensed to preach, his credentials being signed by Bishop Newcomer. To his subsequent great regret he did not for sixteen years enter unreservedly upon the work of the ^p.276 ministry, enduring what he afterward called "Egyptian servitude." Breaking away at last from the worldly trammels which hindered him, and giving himself with a complete consecration to the work, he began a career of much usefulness to the Church and of great joy to himself. When he was eighteen years of age, his father with all the family removed west, establishing a new home in Butler County, Ohio. Henry, after his marriage, chose a home near Lewisburg, in Preble County, and here the greater part of his life was spent. He became a member of the Miami Conference, served for many years as presiding elder, and was a number of times sent as a delegate to the General Conference. His earnestness and energy made so favorable an impression upon the General Conference of 1841 that he was by that body chosen as bishop. After one term of service he entered again the itinerant field, to be reelected in 1857 as bishop of the German conferences. He declined this election, and was again chosen for the same office in 1861. In 1865 the office of bishop of the German work was discontinued.

Bishop Kumler was a man of robust physical frame and of impressive personal presence. He was a vigorous thinker, and an earnest defender of any position he espoused. In the annual or General Conference no man was ever more constantly on the alert, not a word spoken by friend or opponent ever escaping his attention. On some questions he was conservative, on others progressive in the best sense. In the prolonged controversies on the secret-society question he was with the radicals, though it may be doubted whether, if he had lived to the time of the radical secession, he would have surrendered his connection with the Church he so long toiled to build up. He was intensely loyal to the Church, and sought unceasingly to build up her interests. Personally, Bishop


	Joseph Hoffman		William Brown

	Jacob Erb		Henry Kumler, Jun.

	John Coons		John Russel

	William Hanby		Lewis Davis

^p.277 Kumler was of a sunny disposition, fond of pleasantry and humor, qualities which he inherited from his father. As an antagonist in debate, he often struck hard blows, but with so much good humor and genuine kindliness of heart that one might deem it quite as agreeable to be opposed to as in agreement with him. In his religious life he was deep, sincere, and earnest. His last years were spent in Dayton, where several of his children live. Among these is Mrs. D. L. Bike, so widely known from her connection with the woman's missionary work, and Mr. S. E. Kumler, who rendered so valuable service recently in the work of relieving Otterbein University from its long embarrassment. Bishop Kumler died August 19, 1882, in the eighty-second year of his age. His remains were laid to rest by the side of his wife and other members of his family in the United Brethren burying-ground at Lewisburg. Rev. C. Schneider, pastor of the German United Brethren church, preached his funeral sermon in Dayton, in German, followed by Bishop Glossbrenner in English. Dr. L. Davis preached a sermon in the church at Lewisburg to the bishop's old neighbors and friends.

3. John Coons.

In the same year in which the younger Kumler was elected bishop, John Coons was also chosen to that office, so that the episcopal board now stood, Henry Kumler, Sen., Jacob Erb, Henry Kumler, Jun., and John Coons. Mr. Coons was born in Martinsburg, Virginia, on October 25, 1797, and when about ten years of age was brought by his parents to Ross County, Ohio. He was converted at the age of twenty-four under the labors of the noted revivalist Jacob Antrim, of the Miami Conference. He soon began to preach, and in the year following, 1822, was received into membership in the Miami Conference. ^p.278 He was ordained as an elder in the Church on May 18, 1826, by Bishops Christian Newcomer and Henry Kumler, Sen. On the division of the Miami Conference his residence placed him within the bounds of the Scioto, but on removing in 1845 to the Miami Valley he again became a member of the Miami Conference. He was chosen a delegate from the Scioto Conference to each of the General Conferences from 1829 to 1841, thus being a member of the body which framed and adopted the Constitution of 1837, and again of the conference which formed the Constitution of 1841. In the office of bishop, to which this conference elected him, he served only a single term. Throughout his life he was lacking in robust health, and the hard service required in the bishop's office placed too heavy a strain upon his physical strength. His latest residence after his removal to the Miami Valley was in the city of Dayton, and here his death occurred on August 7, 1869, he being then in the seventy-second year of his age.

Bishop Coons is remembered by many of the older members of the Church as a man of fine personal presence. He was tall, straight in form, dignified in carriage, dark in complexion, with keen, expressive eyes, set under deep, arching eyebrows, and in the pulpit was an elegant figure. He was a man of sound judgment, without the aggressiveness of one born to lead, but his opinions on any important question were sought for and respected. In utterance he was strong, clear, and engaging, so that as a preacher he was everywhere warmly welcomed; in private life he was affable and agreeable, so that among the people whom he visited he was gladly received. A large portion of his service to the Church was rendered in the office of presiding elder. To the living who knew him his name remains as an honored treasure.

¹ See also Appendix I.

² Dr. H. A. Thompson's Our Bishops, pp. 237, 238.



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