I do not wish to assume that this is
a history of the Church of the Brethren
in Christ, but just a few facts of just
how the United Brethren Church came to
be, who was responsible for organizing
the church and it's progress since it's
founding, and the church's growth in West Virginia.
PHILIP WILLIAM OTTERBEIN was born June
1726 in the town of Dillenburg, in the
duchy of Nassau, now known as Wiesbaden,
Germany. The Otterbein family had come to
Dillenburg in 1650. Philip's grandfather
and father, John Daniel Otterbein, were
both ministers in the German Reformed
Church and his father was also a teacher
in the Reform Latin School, where Philip
received his education. His mother was
Willelmina Henrietta, daughter of John
Jacob Hoerlen. After Philip received his
formal education he taught for a short
time before he was ordained in the old
church at Dillenburg on Jun 13, 1749.
At this time the emigration of
Germans was increasing by large numbers
to the American colonies of Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, and it
was recognized by church authorities that
the German Reform Church must send
missionaries to minister to the needs of
the growing German Speaking population
along with the Lutherans and Mennonites.
The Rev. Michael Schlatter had gone
to America in 1746 to asses the need for
more ministers and upon his return to
Europe in 1751 he requested and received
five young Reform ministers of which Rev.
Philip William Otterbein was one. They
arrived in New York late on the 28th of
July, 1752. Rev. Otterbein considered a
very apt and devout minister preached in
and around the Lancaster, Pennsylvania
area for several years in the normal
orthodox manner of the Reform church, but
always felt something was missing, and he
thought it was his need to return to
Germany, but one thing or another always
prevented him from returning home. He met
and married Susan LeRoy, on April 19,
1762. He and Susan were married or only
six years for Susan died in April 1768.
Rev. Otterbein did get to return to
Germany for a visit in 1770, but returned
to his church in Pennsylvania in a little
over a year. After his return it was
noticed by church authorities and was
formally critized by them in persistence
to deviate form church policy in holding
prayer meetings and kneeling in prayer at
these meetings which he held both during
the weekdays and evenings. The Reform
Church services were structured and it
was considered wrong to deviate in any
way at all. After this Rev. Otterbein
began going out to areas in which there
was no organized reform Church, and
ministering to the settlers.
MARTIN BOEHM's grandfather, Jacob Boehm
lived in Switzerland, he married and
reared his family in the Reform Church.
His son, Jacob sided with the Pietist
(anti-orthodox in the Lutheran Church)
and Jacob was denounced by the Reform
Church and convicted of heresy. He
escaped and went to Germany where he
became associated with the followers of
Menno Simonis, known as Mennonites. He
married and reared his family in the
Mennonite Church and his second son, also
named Jacob, came to America in 1715.
Jacob married Miss Kendig shortly
after coming to Pennsylvania. Their
youngest child, the subject of this essay
was born November 30, 1725.
What little education Martin
received was in the home and the
Mennonite Church. Martin was married to
Eve Steiner in 1753 and was chosen, as
was the custom by lot to become a
minister in the Mennonite Church in 1758.
At first Rev. Boehm had a very
difficult time, for he could not express
himself and was very reluctant to speak
in the meetings until one day he received
the Holy Spirit while he was kneeling in
prayer in a plowed field.
After Rev. Boehm was appointed
bishop in the Mennonite Church he was
called to Virginia to minister to the
Mennonites who had moved south and were
being subjected to other denominations.
As time passed Bishop Boehm' preaching
was running parallel to the preaching of
Rev. Otterbein.
Otterbein and Boehm Meet
Each of these men after a special
baptism of the Holy Spirit, began to
preach, with greatly increased
definiteness relating to a conscious
salvation in Christ; and also that, with
the new spiritual fervor that burned in
their hearts, they felt themselves
impelled to go beyond the limits of their
own parish boundaries that they might
proclaim a clearer light and a precious
present salvation to others of their
brethren.
Rev. Otterbein and Rev. Boehm
exhibited much activity in wider
preaching of the word, and the meeting of
which the two met was by divine chance.
They met in the mid 1760's at a meeting
in the barn of Mr. Isaac Land in
Lancaster County, at which Rev. Boehm
preached and Rev. Otterbein sat and
listened. Rev. Boehm's sermon was so
inspiring that before he could sit down
Rev. Otterbein arose and with a heart
filled to overflowing, cast his arms
about Rev. Boehm in warm embrace, and
exclaimed, "Wir sind Bruder"..We are
Brethern..
The participants in this meeting
were Mennonites, Reformed, Lutherans, and
others, all moved by the same Holy
Spirit. Even though it was several years
before the Church of The Brethren in
Christ was formed this meeting was said
to have formed a union, with some simple
but definite conditions as its basis.
THE CHURCH TAKES FORM
It wasn't until May 4, 1774 when
Rev. Otterbein came to Baltimore and
began to organize a church that the
foundation of the United Brethren in
Christ began to form. It wasn't until
Jan.1, 1785 the rules and constitution
was drawn up and signed by William
Otterbein, Preacher, that the new Church
was born, although it wasn't until 1789
when the first formal conference of the
Church of the Brethren in Christ was held
that the organization was completed. The
church was not formally named, and the
name adopted until the 1800 conference.
Five articles originally written in
German and later translated to English,
were not part of the original draft at
the conference, although they helped form
the foundation on which the later church
was to build and grow. They were as
follows:
The Doctrine of the United Brethren
in Christ
ART. I. In the name of God we confess
before all men, that we believe in the
only true God, Father, 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 with
both; that this God created heaven and
earth and all that in them is, visible as
well as invisible, and sustains, governs,
protects, and supports the same.
ART. II. We believe in Jesus Christ; that
he is very God and men, Saviour and
Redeemer of the whole world; that all men
through him may be saved if they will;
that this Jesus suffered for us; that he
died and was buried, rose on the third
day, ascended into heaven, and that he
will come again, at the last day, to
judge the living and the dead.
ART. III. We believe in the Holy Ghost;
that he proceeds from the Father and the
Son; that we through him must be
sanctified and receive faith, thereby
being cleansed from all filthiness of the
flesh and spirit.
ART. IV. We believe that the Bible is the
word of God; that it contains the true
way to our souls; well-being and
salvation; that every true Christian is
bound to acknowledge and receive it, with
the influences of the Spirit of God, as
his only rule and guide; and that without
repentance, faith in Jesus Christ,
forgiveness of sins, and following after
Jesus Christ, no one can be a true
Christian.
ART. V. We believe that the doctrine
which the Holy Scriptures contain,
namely, the fall in Adam and salvation
through Jesus Christ, shall be preached
and proclaimed throughout the whole
world.
We recommend that the outward signs
and ordinances, namely baptism and the
remembrance of the Lord in distribution
of the bread and wine, be observed; also
the washing of feet, where the same is
desired.
It appears the major language used
in the Church of the Brethren in Christ
was German until sometime after Bishop
Otterbein's death on Wednesday, Nov. 17,
1813, at age eighty seven.
The Church of the Brethren in Christ
grew steadily and gradually moved west as
settlements became larger west of the
mountains in the area we know now as West
Virginia.
The area covered by the later West
Virginia Conference, Church of the United
Brethren in Christ, was settled by many
folks from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and
Virginia, among whom were a number who
were communicants of our denomination.
Early conferences of the
denomination that had something to do
with the area of the West Virginia
Conference, before its organization as
the Parkersburg Annual Conference in
1858, where the Muskingum Conference
through its Washington County Missionary
Society that did some good work along the
Ohio River in early days and at the
organization of our conference gave our
conference treasurer $98.51; the Scioto
Conference which supervised the work in
the western part our conference area for
ten years and the Virginia Conference
which had control over the area occupied
by our conference the greater part of the
time prior to 1858 and it is said paid a
missionary appropriation of $50.00 to the
California Mission in 1857.
The West Virginia Annual Conference
is a result of two sections of
territories in which our early pioneer
ministers organized societies, one along
the Ohio River in Tyler, Wood, Jackson,
Mason, and Cabell counties and the other
in central West Virginia including
Harrison, Braxton, Tucker, Lewis,
Barbour, Upshur, Ritchie, Gilmer, and
other counties.
FIRST SOCIETY IN CONFERENCE ORGANIZED
It was on August 20, 1836, Rev.
Jacob Rinehart, Presiding Elder and Rev.
Moses Michaels, Pastor, organized the
first class within the bounds of the West
Virginia Conference, at Union in a log
building about two miles east of New
Haven and the charter membership, as it
is given by others was as follows: John
Hoffman, Sr., Mark Roush, Mary Roush,
Thomas Oliver, Savina Oliver, Christena
Hoffman, Henry Nease, Eliazbeth Nease,
Peggy Morgan, Jacob Gibbs, Katherine
Gibbs, Mary Nease, Susan Rickard,
Catherine Hoffman, Barbara Rickard,
Elizabeth Hoffman, Phoeba Hoffman, Susan
Riffle, Mr. and Mrs Hawk and perhaps
others.
These folks worshiped for a while in
a log building and then in the homes of
the community until 1850 when Noah Zerkle
and Geo. N. Capehart, of New Haven,
deeded a lot to the congregation on which
a church building was completed some time
during the year of 1852.
EARLY CHURCHES
The following is the names of some
of the earliest churches with date of
their organization. This information has
been secured from old class books, from
some of our oldest ministers, from
manuscripts of Rev. C.H. Cox and from
other sources. Rev. Jacob Rinehart, a
presiding elder of the Virginia
Conference, visited both Mason and
Jackson counties in 1836.Previous to this
date Rev. Moses Michaels had been
preaching to isolated groups of United
Brethren in both of these counties. Some
of our very oldest citizens claimed that
he preached at Ripley in the first court
house soon after its completion in 1833.
This is believed to be correct for the
reason that at least two of the members
of our first country court in Jackson
County were United Brethren and a number
of others of that faith resided in that
vicinity.
The earliest churches are as
follows:
Name County Date of Organization
1. Bachtel, Jackson Co. 1837
2. German, Braxton Co. 1840
3. Peck's Run, Upshur Co. 1846
4. Ripley, Jackson Co. 1846
5. Indian Camp Rock, Upshur Co. 1846
6. Big Run, Gilmer Co. 1847
7. Sand Hill, Mason Co. 1847
8. West Columbia, Mason Co. 1849
9. Steward's Creek, Gilmer Co. 1850
10. Hartford City, Mason Co. 1852
11. Mt. Washington, Upshur Co. 1852
12. New Haven, Mason Co. 1852
13. Iron's Chapel, Tucker Co. 1852
14. Red Hill, Wood Co. 1851
15. Centerville, Tyler Co. 1853
16. Mt. Olive, Harrison Co. 1854
17. Otterbein, Doddridge Co. 1854
18. Mt. Zion, Ritchie Co. 1855
19. Pennsboro, Ritchie Co. 1855
20. Bachtel, Mason Co. 1855
21. Parchment Chapel, Jackson Co. 1856
22. Fairplain, Jackson Co. 1856
23. Oakhill, Jackson Co. 1856
24. Otterbein, Jackson Co. 1856
25. Mt. Mariah, Jackson Co. 1856
26. Falling Water, Jackson Co. 1856
27. Rockcastle, Mason Co. 1856
28. Antioch, Doddridge Co. 1856
29. Fairview, Tyler Co. 1851
30. Putman Co. Churches 1855
31. Cabell Co. Churches 1836
MOVEMENTS TOWARD ORGANIZATION
(West Virginia)
A West Virginia District of the
Virginia Conference composed of eight
charges was established in 1851. A
petition for a new conference was adopted
by the Virginia conference and was
presented to the General Conference that
convened in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1857.
Favorable action was taken by that body.
The Delegates of the Virginia Conference
that year to the General Conference were
Jacob Bachtel, Jacob Markwook and W.R.
Coursey. Rev. Jacob Bachtel had visited
this section in 1838 while serving as
presiding elder and in 1857 was assigned
to the West Columbia Circuit which had
eight organized churches and ten
preaching appointment that paid him a
salary of $254.00 and gave him presents
amounting to $26.67. The charge had five
Sunday schools with an enrollment of two
hundred four and paid for all purposes
that year the sum of $424.67.
Much more could be said but we must
pass on to the orgaization which set in
motion a new conference for our
denomination.
PARKERSBURG CONFERENCE ORGANIZED
The first session of the Parkersburg
Annual Conference, the West Virginia
Conference first since 1789, the date of
the organizing of Church of the Brethren
in Christ, was convened in Centerville,
in Tyler County, Virginia, now West
Virginia, on Thursday, march 4, 1858 at
2:00 pm and was in session until Monday,
March 8, 1858, with Bishop J.J.
Glossbrenner presiding.
In addition to the eight fields then
in existence two new fields, Harrison
Mission and Kanawha Mission were created.
The area embraced by the conference was
divided into two presiding elder
districts and were called the East and
West Districts. The East District
contained Taylor, Lewis, Middle Island
and Glenville Circuits, and Parkersburg
and Harrison Missions. the West District
included West Columbia and Putnam
circuits, California and Kanawha Mission.
The roster of itinerant ministers
was fixed by the conference to include
the following; Jacob Bachtel, James W.
Miles, Levi Hess, M.D., Zebedee Warner,
John W. Perry, John P. White, Samuel
Martin, William James, M.R. Moore, and
W.H. Miles.
John w. Perry and James W. Miles
were elected presiding elders. Jacob
Bachtel and Levi Hess were named to
assist the bishop in stationing the
presiding elders.
On Sunday morning, March 7th, Bishop
Glossbrenner preached an eloquent and
soul stirring sermon at the close of
which, William James, Samuel Martin and
John P. White were solemnly ordained to
the office of elder in the Church of the
United Brethren in Christ. The bishop
then read the report of the stationing
committee as follows:
East District: Presiding Elder,
James W. Miles; Taylor Circuit. Zebedee
Warner; Lewis Circuit, M.R. Moore; Middle
Island Circuit, Eli Martin; Harrison
Mission, Levi Hess; Parkersburg Mission,
William James; Glenville Circuit, Jacob
C. Jones.
West District: Presiding elder, John
W. Perry; West Columbia Circuit, Jacob
Bachtel; Putnam Circuit, William H.
Miles; California Mission, Samuel Martin;
Kanawha Mission, G.W. Young.
By a resolution adopted by the vote
of the conference, Ripley, the county
seat of Jackson County, was fixed as the
place for the conference session in 1859
with Rev. Samuel Martin the entertaining
pastor, who was the new preacher on
California Mission which extended from
the California House on Hughes River in
Ritchie County to Cottageville in Jackson
County.
Thus the organization of our
splendid conference's first session was
completed, the good bye moment had come,
plans had been laid for another year's
work which these pioneer preachers
started out to do and performed the tasks
assigned them with credit to themselves
and honor to the conference and
denomination.
The Church of United Brethren in
Christ continued to grow but changed very
little until 1946 when it affiliated with
the Evangelical Church and the name was
changed to the Evangelical United
Brethren Church and remained until the
church was absorbed and became part of
the United Methodist Church in 1968.
LONG RUN UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH
The earliest reference found to a
church being located on Bingamon Creek at
Long Run was in a short history of
Bingamon Creek written by John N. Stiles
in which he makes reference to the church
when he moved to Bingamon Creek in 1889.
Bingamon Creek
John Stiles
"When I moved here (1889) there was one
bridge across Bingamon (creek) from its
mouth to Wyatt, it was at Pine Bluff (the
old covered bridge). There was a log
church at the mouth of Long Run, with
split saplings for benches with holes
bored in them with pins in them for legs,
and there was a frame church at Pine
Bluff with the same kind of seats. We had
such preachers as Ely Sharp, a
blacksmith, and Henson Tetrick, a farmer.
They had revivals then, but now they have
simple protracted meetings."
I can find no reference to the
church at Long Run in United Brethren
Conference records until 1908 when it was
assigned a minister in the Enterprise
Charge and also later members of the Long
Run United Brethren Church appeared on
the Honor roll of the Peoria Circuit
prior to 1908. the Long Run church was
not recognized by Church of the United
Brethren in Christ Conference as an
organized congregation until 1908.
The present day
Long Run United Brethren Church
in Christ was built in 1908 and still
stands on land sold to the church for
$1.00 by H.C. (Homer) Michael, his wife
Clara and C.W. Pigott, of whom G.R.
Fortney, John N. Stiles, and Thomas
Libscomb were trustees. It is located on
Big Bingamon Creek at the mouth of Long
Run, Clay District in Harrison Co. It
replaced a small log church with split
rail seats and was begun in the spring of
1908. The church was built by the members
through hard work and donations.
My grandfather, John N. Stiles, was
also treasurer and kept a complete record
of all work done, materials used, and
funds donated. Materials were bought at
local merchants, such as, Hawkers
Hardware, Shinnston Construction Co. and
Muta Swigers.
The total cost of the church was
$950.99 with an initial payment of
$552.70 made in 1908 with the balance
paid over two years. The original deed was
held by Mrs. Jack Bryner of
Bingamon and I feel it is still held by someone
in her family. I do have a copy of the deed.
The Long run U.B. church was
dedicated on August 16, 1908 and the
minister officiating from the Enterprise
Charge was Rev. H.K. Ash.
Ministers have been assigned by
Conferences of the Church of the United
Brethren in Christ since the
establishment of the Long Run Church of
the United Brethren in Christ in 1908.
Some of the ministers were as follows: